Dan Norton

Daniel John Norton (born 22 March 1988) is a former rugby union player. He is the leading all-time try scorer in the World Rugby Sevens Series with over 350 tries, beating the previous record of 244 held by Kenya's Collins Injera at the 2017 Hong Kong Sevens tournament.[1]

Dan Norton
Norton in 2012
Birth nameDaniel John Norton
Date of birth (1988-03-22) 22 March 1988
Place of birthGloucester, England
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight85 kg (187 lb)
SchoolBrockworth Enterprise School
UniversityHartpury College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing, Fullback
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2007–2009 Gloucester 1 (0)
2007–2009 → Moseley (loan) 37 (120)
2009–2011 Bristol 31 (90)
2011– Hartpury College 7 (55)
2020 London Irish ()
National sevens team(s)
Years Team Comps
2009–2022 England 7s 91
2016, 2020 Great Britain 2
Medal record
Men's rugby sevens
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place2016 Rio de JaneiroTeam competition
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place2018 Gold CoastTeam competition

A product of Hartpury College, Norton played most of his career as a winger. Norton was part of the Gloucester academy and dual registered with Moseley for both the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons. Moving on to Bristol Bears (Previously Bristol Rugby) from the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons.

Norton won a silver medal at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics,[2][3] he scored a try in the final, but was unable to prevent a 43-7 drubbing by Fiji.[4][5] He helped the England rugby sevens team secure bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast[6][3] with a 21-14 win over South Africa and the same side that won silver at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco 2018.

International

Norton helped England U20s to a Six Nations Grand Slam title in 2008.[7] He also competed for the England U18s in the 2006–07 season.[7]

Sevens career

Norton made his sevens debut for England in 2009.[6][8]

During the 2010–2011 season, Norton's main focus was on rugby sevens, playing in the Commonwealth Games and a regular in the IRB Sevens World Series. Norton has been a core-contracted Sevens player to the RFU since the 2011–12 season. Norton scored 37 tries in the 2011–12 series – second only to England teammate Mat Turner with 38. In December 2012, Norton scored his 100th career try for England against Scotland in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.[9][10] Norton led all try-scorers in the 2012–13 season with 52 tries. He is top of the all-time list of try scorers on the World Rugby Sevens Series.

Norton possesses great speed,[11] the ability to sidestep off either foot and the ability to kick off both feet. Norton is one of the quickest players on the 7s circuit, with a personal best for the 40m of 4.78 seconds.

Norton announced his retirement from rugby in April 2022 following the Vancouver sevens.[12][13]

Club

Norton made his name at Hartpury College where his dynamic performances on the wing and at fullback earned him a senior contract with Gloucester from 2007 to 2009.[7][8][5] He played for Moseley, while on loan from Gloucester, between 2007 and 2009.[14] In 2009, He helped Moseley win the EDF National Trophy when he scored a try against Leeds in the final at Twickenham.[15][5]

In April 2009, it was announced that Norton would be joining Bristol for the next season.[6][7][5] Norton played the start of the 2009–2010 for Bristol and soon established himself as the top scorer, as Bristol reached the Championship play-off final in 2010, going on to win the British & Irish Cup in 2011. However, after returning from England sevens duty his time with the different format seemed to lose his edge, and was not given enough time to convert, becoming a bit part player for the rest of the season. Although he re-established himself in the B&I Cup winning Bristol side at the end of the 2010–11 season, he was not included in the Bristol retained players list announced at the end of May 2011.

Norton joined London Irish on a short-term contract in August 2020.[16][2][17] He was an ambassador for Mizuno.[18]

Honours

Moseley

Bristol

England

References
  1. "World Rugby Sevens: England's Dan Norton scores record-breaking try". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  2. Rees, Paul (25 August 2020). "Sevens star Dan Norton: 'We gave 10 years to the RFU – it was gutting'". the Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  3. "Dan Norton". www.teamgb.com. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  4. Kitson, Robert (11 August 2016). "Fiji waltz to Olympic rugby sevens gold against outclassed Great Britain". the Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  5. Halliwell, Mark (18 August 2020). "Gloucester-born sevens star Dan Norton signs for London Irish". GloucestershireLive. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  6. "England legend Norton retires from rugby sevens". BBC Sport. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  7. "Dan Norton". Hartpury University and Hartpury College. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  8. Kitson, Robert (4 April 2017). "Dan Norton is on the verge of try-scoring history. He deserves recognition". the Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  9. "Hosts and Portugal impress at SA Sevens". worldrugby.org. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  10. "Dan Norton grabs his 100th try as England head to the Bowl again". ur7s.com. 8 December 2012. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  11. Mairs, Gavin (10 May 2012), "England sevens wing Dan Norton puts his Usain Bolt speed to good effect in world series", The Daily Telegraph
  12. "Olympic silver medallist Dan Norton announces rugby sevens retirement". www.teamgb.com. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  13. "The retired class of 2022". www.world.rugby. 4 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  14. "Rugby review of the season: Moseley". Business Live. 3 May 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  15. Harvey, Joe (17 August 2020). "Exclusive: Dan Norton – Finding Ways to Move Forwards". Talking Rugby Union. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  16. "England 7s legend Dan Norton signs short-term deal with London Irish". London Irish. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  17. "London Irish sign Sevens superstar Dan Norton". www.rugbypass.com. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  18. Connolly, Eoin (21 November 2013). "Rugby sevens star Norton to wear Mizuno in Rio". SportsPro. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
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