Rory Brand

Rory Brand (born 10 April 1998 in Scotland) is a professional rugby union player who plays Scrum-half for London Irish.

Rory Brand

Birth name	Rory Brand
Date of birth	(1998-04-10) 10 April 1998
Place of birth	Scotland
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.64 m)
Weight	78 kg (172 lb; 12 st 4 lb)
School	Wellington College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-half Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2016– London Irish 4 (0) National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2017–18 England U20 11 (5) Correct as of 17 June 2018

Early career

Brand was the first recipient of the Jimmy Higham Scholarship at Wellington College.[1] Jimmy, like Rory, was a student at Standish Community High School in Wigan before becoming a PE teacher at Wellington College.

Brand was briefly on the Salford City Reds Scholarship scheme after gaining rugby league experience with Wigan St Cuthberts ARLFC and became a member of the Sale Sharks Junior Academy in 2013.[2]

Club career

In 2015, Brand joined the London Irish Academy. In February 2016, Brand helped London Irish to beat Gloucester 35–11 in the Under 18 Premiership final.[3] Rory Brand captained London Irish at the 2017 Singha Premiership Rugby 7s.[4]

In the 2016–17 season, Brand represented London Irish in the RFU Championship[5] and the 2016–17 British and Irish Cup.[6]

The following season saw Brand feature for the Exiles in the 2017–18 Anglo-Welsh Cup[7] and European Rugby Challenge Cup.[8]

International career

In February 2015, Brand made his debut for the England U18 team in a 21–5 win over France U18 at Doncaster,[2] having previously played for Lancashire U15, U16, the North U16, England U17 and in April 2017 England U19.[2] In February 2017, Brand made his debut for the England U20 team off the bench in a 46–0 victory over Italy at the Northern Echo Arena during the 2017 Six Nations Under 20s Championship.[9] On 3 January 2018 Brand was named in England under-20s squad for the 2018 Six Nations Under 20s Championship.[10]

On 21 May 2018 Brand was named in the England Under-20 squad for the 2018 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[11] Brand scored a try against Italy during the pool stage[12] and came off the bench in the final as England finished runners up to hosts France.[13]

References

1. "Scholarship is perfect sport tribute for Jimmy". Wigan Today. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
2. "RFU profile:Rory Brand". Rugby Football Union. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
3. "Match Report: Gloucester Rugby U18 11 London Irish U18 35". Premiership Rugby. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
4. "London Irish youngster aims to boost his Brand with Singha Premiership Rugby 7s showing". Premiership Rugby. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
5. "London Irish profile:Rory Brand". London Irish. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
6. "Match Report: Exiles top Pool 2 with bonus-point triumph". London Irish. 11 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
7. "Team News: London Irish name team to travel to Kingsholm". London Irish. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
8. "European Challenge Cup: London Irish 20–26 Stade Francais". BBC Sport. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
9. "England U20 defeat Italy in Six Nations". Rugby Football Union. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
10. "England U20 Elite Player Squad Announced". Premiership Rugby. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
11. "England U20: Squad for World Rugby U20 Championship". BBC Sport. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
12. "England U20s defeat Italy at World Rugby U20 Championship". Rugby Football Union. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
13. "World Rugby U20 Championship: England lose out to France in final". BBC Sport. 17 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.