Joe Joyce (rugby union)
Joe Joyce (born 7 February 1994) is an English-born, Irish-qualified rugby union player. He plays lock for Irish United Rugby Championship side Connacht having previously played for English Premiership Rugby side Bristol Bears. He is lovingly known as "The King of the Mead" by fans after a commentator coined the phrase. He played over 150 games for Bristol and scored 8 tries.[1] He was named Man of the Match in his United Rugby Championship debut against the Ospreys.
| Date of birth | 7 February 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Southmead, Bristol, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 119 kg (18.7 st; 262 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Amateur career
He featured in England Schools & Clubs U18s & U19s as well as playing for Filton College RFC.
Professional career
He has played over 100 times for Bristol Bears and played four games in the Bears' 2016–17 season when they were relegated from the Premiership.[2] Joyce joined the Bristol Bears Academy ahead of the 2012/2013 season. He was a member of the PDG Gold group before graduating into the full-time and made his league debut Bristol Bears in the English Premiership in the 2014/2015 season. In 2018 Joyce won the Players' Player of the Year award.[3][2] He is signed to Bristol through the 2022 season.[4] From the 2023–2024 season, he will play for Connacht Rugby.[5]
References
- "Joe JOYCE - Player statistics - It's rugby". www.itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- Evely, John (30 April 2018). "Bristol Rugby's big friendly giant Joe Joyce scoops top award".
- "Joe Joyce". Bristol Bears.
- "Joe Joyce extends Bristol stay".
- "Connacht announce signing of Joe Joyce from Bristol Bears". Connacht Rugby. Retrieved 20 June 2022.