Joe Gray (rugby union)
Joe Gray (born 5 August 1988) is a rugby union player for Harlequins in Premiership Rugby. He plays as a hooker, and previously played for the Northampton Saints and Saracens.
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| Date of birth | 5 August 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Nottingham, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 108 kg (17 st 0 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gray started his Rugby career at Nottingham RFC, he was part of the Nottinghamshire County Schools Rugby Club and also played with Three County Rugby Club which consisted of Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire. Gray took part in a tour of Australia with Three Counties at the age of 15. He played for England under16's A and played for the England under 18's the following year while he was still only 16.
Gray won the Churchill Cup with the England Saxons after starting the Challenge Cup final for Harlequins that they won in 2011.
He started for Harlequins in their 2011–12 Premiership final victory over Leicester Tigers.[1] Following his 80 minutes in the final he toured with England that summer to South Africa and played in the two midweek uncapped games against the Barbarians.
On 27 January 2019, Gray faced his old club Harlequins in a Premiership Rugby Cup match, against Saracens. An away win for Saracens, in which Gray came on in the second half as hooker.[2] He returned to Harlequins on loan in January 2020 before signing full time with the club.[3][4]
International career
Gray was called up again to the England training squad by coach Stuart Lancaster in May 2014 and flew out with the squad for the Barbarians' fixtures.[5] He made his England debut during the tour, coming off the bench in the 20-15 loss to New Zealand.[6]
References
- "Harlequins 30-23 Leicester". BBC Sport. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- "Match Report: Harlequins 12-32 Saracens". Premiership Rugby. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- "Joe Gray: Harlequins re-sign Saracens hooker on loan". BBC. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- "Joe Gray: Harlequins to sign Saracens hooker on permanent deal". BBC Sport. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- "Mike Brown: Harlequins full-back one of 21 added by England". BBC Sport. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- "New Zealand beat England 20-15 through late Conrad Smith try". BBC Sport. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2016.