Brent John Cockbain (born 15 November 1974 in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

) is a former

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 who won 24 caps 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 ...

Club career

Although born in Australia, and with his brother

Matt Cockbain Matt Cockbain (born 19 September 1972) is an Australian rugby union football coach and a former international player. He played over 60 tests for the national team, the Wallabies including winning the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Cockbain was an assis ...

having played international rugby for

, Brent decided to emigrate to the UK. Cockbain played club rugby for

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

, then came to Wales in 1999 to join

Pontypridd RFC Pontypridd Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Pontypridd) are a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. They compete in the Indigo Group Premiership, which they won for four consecutive seasons between 2012 and 2015, and ...

. With the advent of regional sides in 2003, he played for the Celtic Warriors, then when the Warriors were shut down signed for the Ospreys in 2004. In the 2004–05 season he helped the Ospreys win the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

and Wales win the

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

, scoring his first and only international try against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Cockbain returned from injury to club rugby with the Ospreys, but missed Wales' 2006 Autumn Internationals due to an injury. On 3 December 2007, Cockbain signed for the English Premiership side Sale Sharks on a 2½ year contract. Cockbain retired from competitive sport in June 2010.

International career

Cockbain represented Australia at Under 19 and Under 21 level, but qualified for Wales under the residency rule and made his debut against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

on 27 August 2003, a match which Wales won 54–8. This match also saw

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 ...

take charge of the side for the first time, albeit only for the one game. He went on to start in four of Wales' matches in the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...

. In the 2004–05 season he helped Wales win the

, scoring his first international try against

. He was flown out to join the

2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand In 2005, the British & Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing seven matches against first and second division teams from the National Provincial Championship, one match against the New Zealand Mao ...

as a late replacement after

Danny Grewcock Daniel Jonathan Grewcock MBE (born 7 November 1972) is an English former rugby union player who played as a lock. He played for Coventry, Saracens and Bath. He won 69 caps for England and five for the British & Irish Lions. Early life Grewcock ...

had been banned for biting.

References

External links

Sale profilePontypridd RFC profileOspreys profileWales profileWRU profileToby Lloyd Cockbain Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cockbain, Brent 1974 births Living people People from New South Wales Rugby union locks Australian rugby union players Wales international rugby union players London Irish players Ospreys (rugby union) players Pontypridd RFC players Sale Sharks players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Australia People from Innisfail, Queensland