Stephen Begley

Stephen Begley (4 April 1975 − 10 September 2017) was a Scottish[2] rugby union player who played for Glasgow Warriors and Glasgow Hawks at the Lock position.

Stephen Begley

Birth name	Stephen Begley
Date of birth	(1975-04-04)4 April 1975
Place of birth	Chatham, England
Date of death	10 September 2017(2017-09-10) (aged 42)
Place of death	Bukit Merah, Singapore
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[1]
Weight	110 kg (17 st 5 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) - Glasgow Academicals Glasgow Hawks Old Belvedere Strasbourg Watsonians Glasgow Academicals Glasgow Hawks Hamilton Sea Point () Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 1996–98 Glasgow Warriors Lyon Brive 9 (0) Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) - Glasgow District Scottish Exiles () National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) - Scotland U19 Scotland U21

Rugby union career

Amateur career

Beglay was born in Chatham, Kent, England and grew up in the Isle of Sheppey.[3] He had a grandmother from Gourock.[4]

Begley played for the amateur club Glasgow Academicals.[5][6][7][8] When the Accies merged with Glasgow High Kelvinside to form the Glasgow Hawks in 1997, he then played for the Glasgow Hawks.[9][10][11]

For a short spell, Begley played for Old Belvedere RFC in Dublin, Ireland.[12]

After moving back from France, Begley played for Watsonians[13] before moving back to Hawks.[14]

Begley was back with the Glasgow Hawks in 2003[15] via a short spell back at Glasgow Academicals.[16] His try for the Hawks clinched the BT Premiership title for them in 2004 against Heriots. Hawks became the first ever west of Scotland team to win the Scottish title,[17] in 30 years of effort.[18] Heriots had approached Begley to play for them in 1996.[19] The next year 2005 Hawks almost wrapped up the title against Heriots at Goldenacre with Begley again scoring a try.[20] The 2006 title was almost made certain at Currie.[21]

Begley left Glasgow Hawks in 2006.[22]

Provincial and professional career

Begley played in the amateur Glasgow District side at Under 21 grade.[23] He played several times for the professional side Glasgow in Europe.[24][25]

Begley played rugby in London and Cape Town.[2] The Cape Town side was Hamilton RFC, Sea Point. Begley played for them in the nineties and then turned out for them as a guest player when Hamilton, Sea Point entered a Sevens team in the Melrose Sevens in 2011. Begley turned out for them in the precursor Veterans Tens tournament which then the Cape Town side went on to win.[26] Begley was selected for the Scottish Exiles District team.[12]

International career

He played for the Scotland Under 19s[27] and Scotland Under 21s[5][28] and hoped for a call up to Scotland A.[2]

He played for the French rugby clubs Lyon,[29] Strasbourg and Brive.[1][2]

Death

Begley died while competing in Singapore International Triathlon at East Coast Park on 10 September 2017.[30][31] A medical team on shore gave CPR but it was to be in vain as Begley was pronounced dead at Singapore General Hospital.[3]

References

1. "Player Archive : EPCRugby.com - Official website of European Professional Club Rugby". Epcrugby.com. Retrieved 18 September 2017.}
2. "No headline". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
3. "Triathlon: Triathlete dies in swim leg of relay". Straitstimes.com. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
4. Valance, Matt (2 October 2017). "Obituary: Steve Begley, a rugby forward who played hard and partied harder". The Scotsman. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
5. "Murrayfield meeting will decide outcome Silent majority hold key to great debate". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
6. "Kiwi Andy puts life into Accies". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
7. "No giants killed here". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
8. "Accies wilt in the face of a second-half barrage against all the odds GHK's Wallace brothers put on Braveheart show". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
9. "Glasgow Hawks RFC - Club History & Archive". Glasgowhawks.com. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
10. "Heriot's call for a shorter season 'We expect too much from amateur players'". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
11. "Quality shines through as kicks count in a frenzied match Melrose refuse to lie down to defeat". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
12. Lorimer, Alan (17 December 2001). "Exiles in switch to Riverside". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
13. Peter Donald (4 January 2003). "Scottish Rugby: Heriot's call in MacRae for crucial encounter". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
14. "BT premiership 1: how they shape up". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
15. "Two tales of one city as Grammar put football club efforts to shame Rugby brigade are cock-a-hoop as soccer brothers fight off demons, says Neil Drysdale". Herald Scotland. 25 October 2003. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
16. "Today's action". Herald Scotland. 30 August 2003. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
17. "Hawks swoop to historic triumph Coach Wright concedes at last: 'We're the best'". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
18. "BT Premiership One round-up". BBC Sport. 28 February 2004. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
19. "Sick watching Scottish teams that battle bravely and lose". Herald Scotland. 20 June 1996. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
20. "Pragmatic victory makes title almost certain". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
21. "High-fliers make their own luck". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
22. dailyrecord Administrator (13 November 2006). "RED-HOT HAWKS TURN IT ON FOR CRAIG". Dailyrecord. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
23. "McLeish supplies the killer blow". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
24. "Capital players are in demand". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
25. "Logan adds to disappointment". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
26. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
27. "Glasgow Hawks RFC - Club History & Archive". Old.glasgowhawks.com. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
28. "Hawks Roll of Honour" (PDF). Files.pitchero.com. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
29. "Small talk with the big Reds enough to make you cry". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
30. "Tragic news received this morning". Retrieved 18 September 2017.
31. "Triathlon: Triathlete dies in swim leg of relay". The Straits Times. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.

External links

• EPC profile
• Begley European call-up
• Begley against Wasps