Chris Wyles

Chris Wyles
Full name Chris Wyles
Date of birth September 13, 1983
Place of birth Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 93 kg (14 st 9 lb)[1]
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position Fullback/Wing/Centre
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2004-2006
2006-2007
2008-		 Nottingham
Northampton Saints
Saracens		 40
9
176		 (105)
(15)
(205)
correct as of 25 April 2015.
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2007- United States 45 (212)
correct as of 6 January 2015.
Sevens national teams
Years Club / team Comps
2007-2009 United States 13 (270)

Chris Wyles (born 13 September 1983 in Stamford, Connecticut, United States) is an International American-English rugby union player who plays for the USA Eagles and plays his club rugby for Saracens in the Aviva Premiership. He usually plays as a fullback or wing, but can also play as a centre. Wyles is the most-capped fullback of all time for the U.S. national team.[2] Wyles has captained the USA national sevens team, which is a core team on the IRB Sevens World Series.

Background

Wyles grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania before he moved to England when he was 11 years old. His parents are from England.[3] He then attended Haileybury and Imperial Service College in Hertford and went on to study Politics at the University of Nottingham.

Club career

Wyles’ first professional club was the Championship team, Nottingham RFC. He then played with Northampton Saints, during the 2006/2007 season. It was during this period that he caught the eye of the USA Eagles coaching team which eventually resulted in his involvement in the IRB Sevens World Series and the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Wyles joined Saracens in summer of 2008, after impressive performances in the 2007 World Cup. Eddie Jones, who was on the Springboks coaching team, saw Wyles' potential, and when Jones became Director of Rugby at Saracens he signed Wyles to build his squad.[4] Wyles debuted for Saracens on 24 August 2008 against the Sale Sharks. In the 2009/2010 season he was a regular starter on the wing and played in the Saracens team that took on Leicester RFC in the final of the English Premiership. For his performances during the 2009/10 Season, Wyles was nominated for Player of the Season by Brendan Venter. He was also a key figure in the successful 2010/11 Premiership winning side, starting 20 matches and leading the team in metres gained (909 metres).

International career

Wyles first represented the US national rugby sevens team at the 2007 Hong Kong Sevens. From there, he went on to captain the US team in the IRB Sevens World Series, leading the team to core IRB Sevens status. During his time with the US national Sevens team he scored an impressive 54 tries in 13 tournaments.

Chris Wyles in action for the USA Eagles during the 2010 Churchill Cup vs Russia

Wyles earned his first 15's cap at the Churchill Cup in 2007 against England Saxons before going onto to play Fullback for the Eagles in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. His performances in the World Cup led him to be named the American Rugby News ‘Player of the Year’[5] Since the 2007 Rugby World Cup, he has been a regular starter at Fullback for the US National team. In 2009, Wyles was included in the USA Eagles team of the decade by a leading US rugby publication.[6] Wyles continued his form for the USA team playing in the 2011 Rugby World Cup finishing as the Eagles top points scorer. His recent performances for club and country won him the 2012 Player of the Year award for American rugby[7]

International Tries

Chris Wyles' International Tries [8]
Try Opposing Team City/Country Venue Competition Year
[1]  South Africa Montpellier, France Stade de la Mosson 2007 Rugby World Cup 2007
[2]  Uruguay Sandy, Utah Rio Tinto Stadium Test Match 2008
[3]  Japan Tokyo, Japan Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium Test Match 2008
[4–5]  Russia Glendale, Colorado Infinity Park 2010 Churchill Cup 2010
[6]  Italy Nelson, New Zealand Trafalgar Park 2011 Rugby World Cup 2011
[7]  Russia Colwyn Bay, Wales Eirias Park Test Match 2012
[8-9]  Romania Bucharest, Romania Stadionul Arcul de Triumf Test Match 2012
[10]  Japan Tokyo, Japan Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium 2013 IRB Pacific Nations Cup 2013
[11]  Georgia Rustavi, Georgia Rustavi Rugby Stadium Test Match 2013
[12]  Russia London, UK Allianz Park Test Match 2013
[13]  Uruguay Montevideo, Uruguay Estadio Charrúa 2015 Rugby World Cup Qualifier 2014
[14]  Canada Sacramento, California Bonney Field 2014 IRB Pacific Nations Cup 2014

References

  1. ↑ "Aviva Premiership Rugby - Saracens". web page. Premier Rugby. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  2. ↑ IRB Match Preview: Japan v USA, June 2013, http://www.irb.com/mm/document/tournament/mediazone/02/06/78/68/20130621japvusa.pdf
  3. ↑ "Player profile". web page. Saracens Official website. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Saracens sign American star". Sky Sports. 26 August 2008.
  5. ↑ http://www.espnscrum.com/worldcup/rugby/story/73558.html
  6. ↑ http://www.rugbymag.com/fan-zone/awards/team-and-player-of-the-decade.aspx
  7. ↑ http://www.thisisamericanrugby.com/2013/01/title-tiar-awards-mens-player-of-year.html?spref=tw
  8. ↑ espnscrum http://www.espnscrum.com/statsguru/rugby/player/14945.html?class=1;orderby=date;template=results;type=player;view=match. Retrieved 20 December 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links