Famous British Rugby Players

Dylan Hartley is a former rugby union player who played for Northampton Saints for most part of his career. He was also an important member of the England national rugby union team, captaining the side from 2016 to 2018. As captain, Hartley led his side to a 3–0 series win against the Australian side in the 2016 Cook Cup.

Ugo Monye is an English former rugby union player turned sports pundit. He was a star athlete as a youth and played for Hampshire RFC U17s and U20s. He then joined Harlequins and played 241 times for them. He won both the second division and then the Premiership title with Harlequins. He has also played for England. 

Kevin Sinfield is a former professional rugby league player turned coach.  He played his entire professional career with Leeds and is considered one of the most successful players in Super League history. He shifted to coaching after his retirement as a player and is currently the defensive coach for the Leicester Tigers, who play in Premiership Rugby.   

Ben Youngs is an English rugby union player who plays for the Leicester Tigers as well as the England national team. One of the most successful scrum-halfs of his generation, Youngs became the most capped scrum-half for England in 2019. In 2017 and 2020, Ben Youngs helped his team win the prestigious Six Nations Championships.

Owen Farrell is an English rugby union player who captains the Saracens Football Club as well as the England national team. Having scored 1053 points so far, Farrell is counted among the top points scorers in the history of rugby union tests. Owen Farrell has helped the English team win three Six Nations Championships among other major tournaments.

Rory Underwood is an English former rugby union player. He predominantly played in the wing position and spent the majority of his career with Leicester Tigers. He also played for Middlesbrough and Bedford Blues. He was previously a pilot with the Royal Air Force and has played for the RAF rugby team as well. 

Chris Ashton is an English rugby union player. He is also a former rugby league player. He plays as a wing or fullback and is one of the few players who have represented England in both rugby codes. He began playing rugby as a young boy and made his senior debut in 2005. He has won 40 caps for England. 

Bill Beaumont is a former rugby player who was the captain of the England rugby union team. He played as a lock and earned 34 caps, then a record for a lock. The unexpected 1980 Grand Slam achieved by his team under his captaincy is considered the highest point in his career. He is currently the chairman of World Rugby.   

Danny Care is an English rugby union player. He currently plays for Harlequins in the Premiership as a scrum-half. He began playing rugby union as a small child and made his international debut with the England Sevens team in 2006. In 2008, he made his debut for England and has since won 84 caps. 

Brian Moore is an English former rugby union footballer. He played as a hooker for Nottingham, Harlequins, and Richmond. He was abandoned by his father as a child and had a difficult childhood. He sought solace in rugby and became a formidable player. He is currently a rugby presenter and pundit for BBC Sport, Talksport, and Love Sport Radio. 

English rugby player Lewis Moody began his career at the tender age of 18 with the Leicester Tigers. He ended his career with Bath Rugby. The tragic death of a teenage fan named Joss Rowley Stark inspired him to start the Lewis Moody Foundation, which spreads awareness about brain tumors.

Phil Vickery is a former English rugby union player and member of the England squad. He played as a tighthead prop and was a member of England's World Cup-winning squad in 2003. After suffering from several neck injuries, he was forced to retire from rugby in 2010. In 2015, he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Gloucestershire. 

Paul Sampson is an English rugby union and rugby league player. He became interested in different sports as a child and won the England Schools 100 meters title in 1996. He soon joined the England rugby squad while still a school student and won his first England cap against South Africa in 1998. Rugby player, Dean Sampson, is his cousin.  

Andy Goode is a retired rugby union player and a sports pundit. He has played professionally in England, France, and South Africa for different clubs during his extensive career.  He played over 400 games and scored over 4,000 points in a career that spanned almost two decades. He became a sports TV pundit after retiring. 

Mike Tindall is an English former rugby union player who represented Bath Rugby, Gloucester Rugby, and the England national rugby union team. He helped his national team win the 2003 Six Nations Championship as well as the 2003 World Cup. Tindall earned 75 caps for England and represented his country in 11 Six Nations Championships. 

English rugby player Ben Kay is known for his 62-cap win for England from 2001 to 2009. He also had an 11-year stint with the Leicester Tigers. Born to Lord Justice of Appeal Sir John William Kay, he earned the nickname "M'lud." Post-retirement, he has been an ESPN commentator.

Andrew Sheridan is as much known for his towering 6’5” frame as he is for his game. The star rugby player came under the spotlight after singlehandedly destroying Australia at the autumn international at Twickenham in 2005. The legendary prop had a 12-year stint with the Sale Sharks.

Martin Offiah is an English former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer. He was active in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s and scored over 500 tries during his rugby league career. He is counted among the greatest rugby league players of his era and was inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2013.  

Apart from the English national team, rugby player Steve Borthwick has also played for Bath and Saracens. He has also coached teams such as Japan and England and now serves as the head coach of the Leicester Tigers. He also boasts of an MS in management from the University of Hertfordshire.

Gethin Jenkins is a Welsh former rugby union player. He is the sixth most-capped player in rugby union history with 129 international caps for Wales and five for the British & Irish Lions. He retired from his highly successful playing career in 2018 and became a coach. He has held numerous coaching positions at Cardiff Blues and Cardiff RFC. 

Known for his stint with the Super League teams Leeds Rhinos and the Bradford Bulls, Jamie Peacock has also captained the Great Britain and England teams. He started his career anew after retiring for a year. He also began a mental-health campaign to end the stress related to the COVID-19 lockdown.

English rugby player Nick Easter made his debut for England against Italy in 2007. He has also played for Orrell and Harlequins. The brother of retired rugby player Mark Easter, he is known for making the infamous remark “That's £35,000 down the toilet” after England's 2011 World Cup defeat to France.

South African-born Dutch rugby player Nick Abendanon plays for the England rugby team and is best known for his stint as a full back for Clermont Auvergne. Declared the 2015 European Player of the Year, he also won the Top 14 and the Challenge Cup trophies for Clermont.

Rugby player Charlie Hodgson was a prominent fly-half for Sale Sharks and Saracens. He has also represented England and been part of the 2005 Lions tour. He also has a record 2,625 premiership points. Post-retirement, he has turned his focus to his leadership coaching company, Charlie Hodgson Performance.

Rugby union player, Mark Cueto played mostly on the wing and some time as full back for Sale Sharks.  An enthusiastic footballer in his school years, he later switched to rugby, eventually representing England in the 2000-01 World Sevens Series, making 56 appearances for the National Team and 303 for his club, amassing record-breaking 90 Premiership tries during his career.

Born in South Africa, Matt Stevens later joined the English rugby team as a prop. He was dragged into a drug controversy and banned for a few games, too, in 2009. He later moved to South Africa, where he worked for the Boschendal wine farm for a while.