Dave Attwood (born 5 April 1987 in

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 ...

, England) is a

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 who plays at

Lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

for Bath in

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

. In 2017 he was described as a "big traditional tight-head lock, a master of the set piece, indeed arguably the best scrummaging second row in the country". He has previously played for

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 ...

, over two spells,

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 ...

and

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

Education and early career

Attwood attended

The Ridings High School The Winterbourne Academy, is a co-educational school in South Gloucestershire. The school is in the village of Winterbourne in South Gloucestershire, on the outskirts of Bristol, England. History The Ridings High School was founded in 1957. It ...

in Bristol. He graduated from Bristol University with a joint Honours degree in Physics and Philosophy with the support of the

Rugby Academy before moving on to the First Team squad. His rugby heroes include Alex Brown,

Will Greenwood William John Heaton Greenwood, MBE (born 20 October 1972) is an English former rugby union player who played for Leicester Tigers and Harlequins and was a member of England's 2003 World Cup-winning team and the 1997 British & Irish Lions. H ...

and coach and personal friend Phil Cue, his then coach at Bristol Minis and Juniors and Dings Crusaders. In 2007 aged 20, he was described as "the thinking man's Martin Johnson" (rugby union). He was England under 16 discus champion and still enjoys throwing although he complains that "he never finds the time."

Club career

Attwood spent two years (2007-2009) with the Bristol Rugby first team squad. The 2008–09 season saw him feature more regularly in the first team, playing in the

Anglo-Welsh Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

as well as the

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

. He joined

in the summer of 2009. In February 2011, it was announced that he had agreed a two-year deal with Bath Rugby, from the beginning of the 2011–12 season. In February 2019, it was announced that Attwood would be rejoining

at the start of the 2019–2020 season on a two-year deal

International career

Attwood represented England under 19s in the 2006 Junior World Cup, scoring against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the semi-final. He played for the England under 20 team in 2007. He was called into the

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...

squad to face Italy A on 9 February 2008, although he did not play in the match. He made his playing debut for the

against

Ireland Wolfhounds The Ireland Wolfhounds (formerly Ireland A and Ireland B) are the second national rugby union team of Ireland, behind the Ireland national team. They previously competed in the Churchill Cup together with the England Saxons, the national teams ...

in January 2010. Attwood was called up to the senior

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 ...

team for the 2010 Summer tour to Australia. He played two games with the second-string squad against the Australian Barbarians, but was cited at the end of the first game for stamping. This was dismissed on technicalities before being reviewed. Attwood made his senior England debut as a replacement for Tom Palmer in the game against

on 7 November 2010. He made his third appearance for England against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

on 8 June 2013 in a 32–3 victory for England. He captained England Saxons to a 2–0 series win away to South Africa A in 2016. As at January 2017, Attwood had won 24 England caps.

Interests

Attwood funds a performance sports scholarship at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

called the Dave Attwood Rugby Scholarship Scheme. He has "donated and raised tens of thousands of pounds for research into degenerative brain disease" through his continued support for the School of Clinical Sciences at Bristol University.

References

External links

Bath Rugby ProfileEngland Rugby Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Attwood, Dave 1987 births Living people English rugby union players Rugby union players from Bristol Bath Rugby players Bristol Bears players Gloucester Rugby players RC Toulonnais players Rugby union locks Alumni of the University of Bristol England international rugby union players