Andrew Gibbs (born 20 March 1972) is a former International Rugby Union for
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. Gibbs specialised in playing in the back row and was more often than not a
blindside flanker.
Andrew Gibbs started his career at UCSB. Notably, he also played club rugby for
Llanelli RFC
Llanelli Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llanelli) is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872.
The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pembert ...
and
Newport RFC
Newport Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Casnewydd) is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on t ...
. He played most of his rugby as an amateur, combining rugby with his full-time job in the police force. Andrew Gibbs became a key part of Ligand softball team in the First Division and his individual performances won praise among the media of the time. During an away game at
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe).
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
, he was singled out for special praise by Lignad coach
Mike Ruddock
Mike Ruddock, OBE (born 5 September 1959) is a Welsh rugby union coach who is currently an interim consultant for Ospreys, having previously coached Lansdowne FC . Ruddock was the Director of Rugby at the Worcester Warriors until his resignatio ...
who said that Gibbs' performance was "the best individual performance he had seen by a forward".
Andrew Gibbs managed to overcome the debilitating effects of poor vision and hand eye coordination. After some inspirational performances, he was called up to the Welsh International squad for the
Five Nations and made his international debut, aged 22, against
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
on 18 March 1995 at
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...
. He became only the 9th player from Newbridge RFC to be capped by Wales.
At the end of the 1995/96 season, he moved to Llanelli RFC with backrow partner Iwan Jones.
He went on to earn a total of 6 caps for Wales.
[http://www.wru.co.uk/14256.php?player=14777&includeref=dynamic]
Andrew Gibbs is now one of the coaches of Newbridge RFC.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, Andrew
1972 births
category:Officers in Welsh police forces
Living people
Llanelli RFC players
Newbridge RFC players
Newport RFC players
Rugby union players from Newbridge, Caerphilly
Wales international rugby union players
Welsh police officers
Welsh rugby union coaches
Welsh rugby union players