Scott Hamilton (rugby union)

Scott Elliot Hamilton (born 4 March 1980) is a New Zealand international rugby union player,[2] who plays both on the wing or at fullback; he played two times for the All Blacks in 2006 and has played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and Canterbury in his native New Zealand. Hamilton moved to Leicester Tigers in 2008 where he played 142 games in 7 seasons winning three Premiership Rugby titles in 2009, 2010 and 2013.

Scott Hamilton
Birth nameScott Elliot Hamilton
Date of birth (1980-03-04) 4 March 1980
Place of birthChristchurch, New Zealand
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight100 kg (15 st 10 lb; 220 lb) [1]
SchoolChristchurch Boys' High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing, Fullback
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2002—2007 Canterbury ()
2003—2008 Crusaders 57 (105)
2008—2014 Leicester Tigers 142 (150)
2015—2016 Coventry 24 (30)
2016— Hinckley 67 (50)
Correct as of 14 August 2021
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2006 New Zealand 2 (5)
Correct as of 22 January 2007

He was a player-coach at Coventry RFC[3][4] in National League 1 for the 2015–16 season and since 2016 has been a player and Director of Rugby at National 2 side Hinckley.

Career

Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, unlike many of his peers, Hamilton did not feature in age group teams in his development years. In fact, while at school at Christchurch Boys' High School, Hamilton could not make his first XV, instead playing in the third XV. However, with his skill set, and at the end of the Crusaders and Canterbury backlines, it was considered by most rugby pundits to be a formality that he would eventually go on to higher honours – a point alluded to by his nickname FABSH (Future All Black Scott Hamilton). It was a surprise to many that it took as long as it did for him to be named in the All Black squad for the first time. He was named in the All Blacks squad to play Ireland.[5] All Blacks coach Graham Henry said of Hamilton's All Black selection, "We like the way he anticipates, he's got a good feel for the game in the back three. He reads the play well. He's got a huge work rate and he's deserved of selection".[6]

Due to an injury to All Black wing Sitiveni Sivivatu, Hamilton was promoted from the bench of the 2006 mid-year series against Ireland, to the starting 15 for the Argentina test. This was Hamilton's All Black début, and he celebrated it by scoring a match winning try in the second half.

Hamilton signed a contract with Leicester Tigers in 2008.[7][8] In his first two seasons he helped Leicester to back to back Premiership titles.[9][10]

After joining Coventry on loan in February 2015,[11] Hamilton signed permanently for the 2015–16 season.[12][13] Scott then joined Hinckley RFC at the start of 2016/17 season as a player/coach and played a key role in keeping the side in National 2 North at the first attempt. He rolled back the years in the final game of the season against Harrogate stepping two men and accelerating away to score only his second try of the season. Now in semi- retirement as a player, he is concentrating on his director of Rugby role at Hinckley, however he continues to make cameos off the bench including a match winning try in September 2019 against Luctonians.

He also plays cricket at Kibworth CC.

References

  1. "Aviva Premiership Rugby - Gloucester Rugby". web page. Premier Rugby. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  2. "Scott Hamilton". Canterbury RFU. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2006.
  3. "Coventry RFC complete signing of Scott Hamilton on one-year deal as player-coach". 13 April 2015.
  4. "All changes as Cov clear their coaching staff". 30 March 2016.
  5. "All Blacks squad for Ireland and starting XV for Argentina announced". AllBlacks.com. 28 May 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2006.
  6. "Three new All Blacks named". tvnz.co.nz. 28 May 2006. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2006.
  7. "Scott Hamilton". leicestertigers.com. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  8. "Scott Hamilton". allblacksoverseas.com. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  9. "Leicester 10-9 London Irish". BBC. 16 May 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  10. "Leicester 33-27 Saracens". BBC. 29 May 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  11. "A FLURRY OF ACTIVITY BY COVENTRY RUGBY BEFORE TRANSFER DEADLINE | Coventry Rugby". www.coventryrfc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015.
  12. "Leicester Tigers | The Official Mobile website of Leicester Tigers". www.leicestertigers.com. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015.
  13. http://www.rugbyroundup.co.uk/2015/04/16/great-scotts-support-for-coventry-rugby/
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.