Mike Brown (rugby union)

Mike Brown
Full name Michael Noel Brown
Date of birth (1985-09-04) 4 September 1985
Place of birth Southampton, England
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 90 kg (14 st 2 lb; 198 lb)[1]
School Peter Symonds College
Wyvern College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback
Youth Career
Salisbury
Melksham RFC
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2005– Harlequins 278 (415)
Correct as of 21 April 2017
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2007– England 62 (50)
Correct as of 19 June 2017

Mike Brown (born 4 September 1985) is an English professional rugby union player who plays fullback for Harlequins and the England rugby team.

Early and personal life

Born in Southampton, he was educated at Wyvern College, until aged 15 when he moved to Peter Symonds College. Having mainly played football and little rugby, he initially wanted to play fly half. Under the coaching of Mike Marchant, he changed position to fullback. This brought him to the attention of Salisbury RFC, where he moved to age 18, before a short stint at Melksham RFC.[2]

Brown married long term partner, fashion designer Eliza Scarlett Woodcock, the daughter of former England international footballer Tony Woodcock, in summer 2016.[3]

Club career

Brown made his First XV debut for Quins during the 2005/06 season, scoring a try on debut in the pre-season friendly against London Irish on 12 August 2005. He was part of the England Under 21 team that won the 2006 Six Nations Grand Slam and also competed in the Under 21 World Championships later that year.

In the 2006-07 season, although still in a part of Harlequins' Academy side, he established himself as first choice full back. A standout season by Brown resulted in him collecting 9 tries, earning him a place on the Sky Sports Dream Team.

Mike had a successful 2010-11 season with Quins, culminating in winning the Amlin Challenge cup, beating Munster at Thomand Park on the way to the final against Stade Francais. This form continued into the 2011/12 Aviva Premiership season, resulting in a call up to the EPS squad. He started for Harlequins in their 2011–12 Premiership final victory over Leicester Tigers.[4]

International career

In the 2006-07 season, although still in a part of Harlequins' Academy side, he was capped by the England Saxons in the first two matches of the year.

Brown got selected for the 2007 England rugby union tour of South Africa. Unaffected by a severe incident of food poisoning within the England camp, Brown picked up his first full England cap in the record 58–10 defeat to South Africa. Brown was called into the England Saxons side that defeated Ireland A on 1 February 2008.[5][6][7] On 1 June 2008, he started for England against the Barbarians at Twickenham in an uncapped match. On 14 June 2008, he started for England in their 37–20 defeat to New Zealand.[8]

Brown vied with Ben Foden for the England full-back spot in 2012, coming off the bench in the victory over Scotland at Murrayfield. He spent the 2013 Six Nations playing on the left wing with Alex Goode taking the number 15 jersey. He was finally picked at fullback by Stuart Lancaster and was subsequently named England's Man of the Series following his form during the 2013 Autumn Internationals. Brown scored his first try for England in the 2014 Six Nations Championship match against France on 1 February 2014 and his second came a week later in a comprehensive 20–0 victory against Scotland.[9][10] He then scored two tries and was named Man of the Match for the third time in the tournament in the 52–11 away win over Italy in Rome. In recognition of Brown's form throughout the 2014 Six Nations Championship, he was selected by the general public for the 2014 RBS Six Nations player of the championship award.[11]

Brown was an integral part of the England team that won the RBS Six Nations Championship in 2016 and played every match in the 3-0 whitewash of Australia.

International tries

Try Opposing team Location Venue Competition Date Result Score
1  France Saint-Denis, France Stade de France 2014 Six Nations 1 February 2014 Loss 26 - 24 [12]
2  Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland Murrayfield Stadium 2014 Six Nations 8 February 2014 Win 20 - 0 [13]
3  Italy Rome, Italy Stadio Olimpico 2014 Six Nations 15 March 2014 Win 52-11 [14]
4  Italy Rome, Italy Stadio Olimpico 2014 Six Nations 15 March 2014 Win 52-11 [15]
5  New Zealand Dunedin, New Zealand Forsyth Barr Stadium Tour of New Zealand 15 June 2014 Loss 27-28 [16]
6  Samoa London, England Twickenham Stadium 2014 Autumn Internationals 22 November 2014 Win 28-9 [17]
7  Fiji London, England Twickenham Stadium 2015 World Cup 18 September 2015 Win 35-11 [18]
8  Fiji London, England Twickenham Stadium 2015 World Cup 18 September 2015 Win 35-11 [19]
9  Ireland London, England Twickenham Stadium 2016 Six Nations 27 February 2016 Win 21-10
10  Australia Sydney, Australia Sydney Football Stadium Tour of Australia 25 June 2016 Win 44-40

References

  1. ↑ "Harlequins 1st XV". Harlequins. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  2. ↑ http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/13744669.England_s_Mike_Brown_s_gratitude_to_Hampshire_college_ahead_of_Rugby_World_Cup/
  3. ↑ http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/meet-england-world-cup-wags-6453341
  4. ↑ "Harlequins 30-23 Leicester". BBC Sport. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "England Saxons squad for Ireland A match". RFU. 2008-01-23. Archived from the original on 2 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  6. ↑ "Varndell shines in Saxons victory". BBC. 2008-02-02. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  7. ↑ "Mike Brown and England Saxons". Quins. 2008-02-04. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  8. ↑ "Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - New Zealand v England at Auckland, Jun 14, 2008". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  9. ↑ "Last gasp try breaks English hearts". ESPN. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  10. ↑ "England ease past pointless Scotland". ESPN. 8 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  11. ↑ "England's Mike Brown named as Six Nations Player of the Championship". Guardian Online. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  12. ↑ Tom Fordyce. "Six Nations 2014: France 26-24 England". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  13. ↑ Tom Fordyce. "England 20 - 0 Scotland". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  14. ↑ Tom Fordyce. "Six Nations 2014: England hammer Italy and wait on Ireland". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  15. ↑ Tom Fordyce. "Six Nations 2014: England hammer Italy and wait on Ireland". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  16. ↑ Ben Dirs. "New Zealand beat England 28-27 in second Test to seal series win". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  17. ↑ "England 28-9 Samoa: Home side earn first autumn win". BBC Sport. 22 November 2014.
  18. ↑ "England 35-11 Fiji: Rugby World Cup 2015: England 35-11 Fiji". BBC Sport. 18 September 2015.
  19. ↑ "England 35-11 Fiji: Rugby World Cup 2015: England 35-11 Fiji". BBC Sport. 18 September 2015.
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