Andrew Coombs is a former

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 ...

international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. His position is back-row forward or lock forward.

Career

Coombs attended

Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun is a Welsh-medium comprehensive school in the Cynon Valley in the village of Penywaun, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, to the northwest of the town of Aberdare. The school was established on 1 September 1995. It provides a Welsh ...

, and is a fluent

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

speaker. He played for Newport Youth and

Pontypool RFC Pontypool Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in the town of Pontypool, which plays in the WRU Championship (known as the SWALEC Championship for sponsorship purposes). Due to the regionalisation of Welsh rugby in 2003, Pontypo ...

before joining

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 ...

at the start of the 2006–07 season. He made almost 50 appearances for Newport and in August 2008 he was made Newport's club captain, succeeding Dai Pattison who had captained the club for 2 years prior. He also represented Wales at under-18 level. Coombs made his debut for the

Newport Gwent Dragons Dragons RFC ( cy, Dreigiau) are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union and play their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport and at other grounds around the region. They play in ...

regional team in the 2009–10 season. Coombs retired from rugby in June 2016 due to a nasty knee injury sustained whilst playing against the Cardiff Blues in the championship cup semi final 2015.

International

In January 2013 he was selected in the 35 man

squad for the

2013 Six Nations championship The 2013 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2013 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 14th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship ...

. Coombs made his international debut for Wales as a lock forward in their first match of the 2013 Six Nations Championship against Ireland in the Millennium Stadium on 2 February 2013. In May 2013 he was selected in the

Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team ( cy, Tîm rygbi'r undeb cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played thei ...

32 man training squad for the summer 2013 tour to Japan.Wales squad
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Newport RFC Record

International Caps

Played 3, won 2, lost 1, drawn 0

References

External links

Newport Gwent Dragons profileWales profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coombs, Andrew 1984 births Living people Rugby union players from Merthyr Tydfil Rugby union number eights Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Newport RFC players Dragons RFC players People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun