Daniel John Norton (born 22 March 1988) 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 it ...
player. He is the leading all-time try scorer in the
World Rugby Sevens Series
The World Rugby Men's Sevens Series is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World Sevens Series, the com ...
with over 350 tries, beating the previous record of 244 held by
Kenya's Collins Injera
Collins Injera (born 18 October 1986) is a Kenyan rugby player. He holds the second place for number of tries scored on the World Rugby Sevens Series with 271. He is known for his achievements with Kenyan national rugby sevens team.
Career
In ...
at the
2017 Hong Kong Sevens tournament.
A product of
Hartpury College
Hartpury University and Hartpury College, formerly Hartpury College, is a provider of further and higher education which describes itself as specialising in the "agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing" sectors. The university a ...
, Norton played most of his career as a
winger. Norton was part of the
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
academy and dual registered with
Moseley
Moseley is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants. The area also has a number of boutiques and ot ...
for both the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons. Moving on to
Bristol Bears
Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 1 ...
(Previously Bristol Rugby) from the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons.
Norton won a silver medal at the
Rio 2016 Summer Olympics
)
, nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams)
, athletes = 11,238
, events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines)
, opening = 5 August 2016
, closing = 21 August 2016
, opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...
,
he scored a try in the final, but was unable to prevent a 43-7
drubbing by Fiji.
He helped the England rugby sevens team secure bronze at the
2018 Commonwealth Games in the
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
with a
21-14 win over South Africa and the same side that won silver at the
Rugby World Cup Sevens
Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) is the quadrennial world championship of rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union. Organised by World Rugby, it currently consists of men's and women's tournaments, and is the highest level of competition in the sport ...
in
San Francisco 2018.
International
Norton helped
England U20s to a Six Nations Grand Slam title in 2008.
He also competed for the
England U18s in the 2006–07 season.
Sevens career
Norton made his
sevens debut for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in 2009.
During the 2010–2011 season, Norton's main focus was on
rugby sevens, playing in the
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
and a regular in the
IRB Sevens World Series. Norton has been a core-contracted Sevens player to the RFU since the 2011–12 season. Norton scored 37 tries in the 2011–12 series – second only to England teammate
Mat Turner with 38. In December 2012, Norton scored his 100th career try for England against Scotland in
Port Elizabeth,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. Norton led all try-scorers in the 2012–13 season with 52 tries. He is top of the all-time list of try scorers on the
World Rugby Sevens Series
The World Rugby Men's Sevens Series is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World Sevens Series, the com ...
.
Norton possesses great speed, the ability to sidestep off either foot and the ability to kick off both feet. Norton is one of the quickest players on the 7s circuit, with a personal best for the 40m of 4.78 seconds.
Norton announced his retirement from rugby in April 2022 following the
Vancouver sevens.
Club
Norton made his name at
Hartpury College
Hartpury University and Hartpury College, formerly Hartpury College, is a provider of further and higher education which describes itself as specialising in the "agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing" sectors. The university a ...
where his dynamic performances on the wing and at fullback earned him a senior contract with
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
from 2007 to 2009.
He played for
Moseley
Moseley is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants. The area also has a number of boutiques and ot ...
, while on loan from Gloucester, between 2007 and 2009. In 2009, He helped Moseley win the
EDF National Trophy when he scored a try against Leeds in the final at Twickenham.
In April 2009, it was announced that Norton would be joining
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
for the next season.
Norton played the start of the 2009–2010 for Bristol and soon established himself as the top scorer, as Bristol reached the Championship play-off final in 2010, going on to win the
British & Irish Cup in 2011. However, after returning from England sevens duty his time with the different format seemed to lose his edge, and was not given enough time to convert, becoming a bit part player for the rest of the season. Although he re-established himself in the B&I Cup winning Bristol side at the end of the 2010–11 season, he was not included in the Bristol retained players list announced at the end of May 2011.
Norton joined
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 ...
on a short-term contract in August 2020.
He was an ambassador for
Mizuno
() is a Japanese sports equipment and sportswear company, founded in Osaka in 1906 by Rihachi Mizuno. Today, Mizuno is a global corporation which makes a wide variety of sports equipment and sportswear for badminton, baseball, boxing, cycling ...
.
Honours
Moseley
*
National Trophy: 2009
Bristol
*
British and Irish Cup: 2011
England
*
Dubai 7s: 2011
References
External links
*
Gloucester Rugby profileEngland 7s profileDan Norton YouTube Highlights*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Dan
1988 births
Living people
English rugby union players
Gloucester Rugby players
Moseley Rugby Football Club players
Black British sportspeople
England international rugby sevens players
Rugby union players from Gloucester
Rugby sevens players at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic rugby sevens players of Great Britain
Great Britain national rugby sevens team players
Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain
Olympic medalists in rugby sevens
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Bristol Bears players
English people of South African descent
Male rugby sevens players
Rugby sevens players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players of England
Rugby sevens players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England
Rugby sevens players at the 2020 Summer Olympics