James Forrester (rugby union)
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| Full name | James Forrester | ||||||
| Date of birth | 9 February 1981 | ||||||
| Place of birth | Oxford, England | ||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||
| Weight | 17 st 4 lb (110 kg) | ||||||
| School(s) attended | St Edward's School, Oxford | ||||||
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| Position(s) | Number 8 | ||||||
| Current club | Gloucester Rugby | ||||||
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* Professional club appearances and points counted for domestic first grade only. | |||||||
James Forrester (born 9 February 1981 in Oxford) is a former English rugby union player who played at number eight for Gloucester Rugby.
James is a tall, agile, talented number eight with excellent ball handling skills and an eye for the try line, as his impressive try tally for Gloucester Rugby demonstrates. Born in Oxford, he learnt his rugby at school and as a mini/junior with Bicester Rugby Club. During his time at St Edward's School, Oxford, he also developed his game and although disappointed at missing out on an England U18 Group Schools cap in 1999, he had more than made up for it by the end of that year when he signed for Gloucester Rugby.
Having played for England U21 he made his England A debut against Wales in Bristol during 2002 and in June of that year also played for an England XV against the Barbarians at Twickenham, scoring a memorable 65-metre try and outstripping Jonah Lomu in the process.
He was also capped by the England Sevens squad in 2002, playing in the opening World Series tournament in Dubai and two others and was man of the match with two tries, when England A thrashed Scotland 78–6 in March 2003.
Unfortunately, injury has affected his career and he required an elbow operation in 2002–03 and then dislocated his shoulder in 2003–04 in the England A match against France A. In the summer of 2004 he signed a three-year contract to stay at Kingsholm. In 2005 he sneaked his first England cap, against Wales in the RBS 6 Nations, coming on as a blood replacement for Joe Worsley. James has shown his versatility, in that he has played in all three back-row positions plus centre, including in Gloucester Rugby’s 16–24 defeat in the Zurich Premiership wildcard final against Saracens on 14 May 2005. The week previously he scored 2 tries from centre against Newcastle.
On Sunday 21 May 2006 James clinched the European Challenge Cup for Gloucester Rugby with a superb try in extra time at The Stoop. James made an impressive start to the following season scoring 3 tries in 3 games, one of which was against Harlequins at The Stoop again. After a horrific injury towards the end of this season at Ashton Gate Stadium he missed the entire 2007/08 season. On 10 October 2008, it was announced on the Gloucester rugby website that he was to retire with immediate effect as a consequence of this injury.[1]
References
- ↑ Downey, Alastair (10 October 2008). "Forrester forced into retirement". Gloucester Rugby. Retrieved 4 December 2009.