Dan Palmer (born 13 September 1988) is a former Australian professional rugby union player. He played for the Waratahs and Brumbies in

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

, before a short stint with French club Grenoble. He also earned one cap for

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 ...

in 2012. His usual position is

tighthead prop In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

Early life

Palmer was born in Shellharbour, New South Wales. He played junior rugby with Kiama and attended Warilla High School. He represented

at Schoolboy, Under-19 and Under-20 levels. He played his senior club rugby in Sydney for Southern Districts in the Shute Shield.

Rugby career

In 2007, Palmer played for the Melbourne Rebels in the Australian Rugby Championship. He joined the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...

squad in 2008 and was signed to a three-year deal after making his debut against the Highlanders in round three of the

Super 14 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

competition. In 2011 he was looking for more playing time and moved to ACT to play for the Brumbies, where he became their starting tighthead prop. Palmer was capped as the starting

for

against Scotland in Newcastle on 5 June 2012. In January 2013, Palmer signed to play for FC Grenoble from the 2013–14 season. However, he never played a match for Grenoble due to a persistent foot injury and subsequently announced his retirement from rugby union at the end of 2014. He returned to Australia to combine university studies with a scrum coaching role at the ACT Brumbies. Despite a drop in weight to below 16 stone, Palmer returned to the playing roster at the Brumbies as a short-term appointment at prop for team's tour to South Africa during the 2015 Super Rugby season.

Other

After rugby, Palmer returned to study and completed a double degree in science and psychology at the Australian National University. , Palmer is completing a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in the cellular mechanisms of brain function. He is the first openly gay Wallabies player.

Reference list

External links

*
itsrugby.co.uk Profile
1988 births Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players ACT Brumbies players FC Grenoble players Expatriate rugby union players in France Gay sportsmen LGBT rugby union players Living people New South Wales Waratahs players Rugby union props Australian LGBT sportspeople 21st-century LGBT people Rugby union players from New South Wales {{Australia-rugbyunion-bio-stub