Eric Peters (born 28 January 1969) is a Scottish former amateur and professional

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, usually playing at Number 8, who rose to captain the

Scotland national rugby union team The Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in men's international rugby union and is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, w ...

Early life

Born in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Peters attended

Brentwood School, Essex , established = , type = Public SchoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , head_label = Headmaster , head = M Bond , chair_lab ...

, and the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, where he became captain of

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

. He played rugby for England at both Under 21 and Student level, before choosing to play for Scotland at senior level.

Rugby career

He joined Bath Rugby club in September 1993, when rugby union was still an amateur game, so he also qualified as a Chartered Surveyor and worked for a property consultant. He was a replacement for Bath in the victorious

1998 Heineken Cup final The 1998 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 1997–98 Heineken Cup, the third season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 31 January 1998 at the Stade du Parc Lescure in Bordeaux. The match was conteste ...

as they defeated Brive. He first played for Scotland against Canada, in January 1995, and became a professional player when the code was changed in 1996. He was first appointed Scottish captain for the 1999 match against Italy, but sustained a shattered kneecap in April 1999, and was out of the game for over a year. In March 2000, whilst still undergoing rehabilitation and surgery on his knee, it was discovered that he had testicular cancer, which was successfully treated with chemotherapy. Peters scored a memorable try in 1995 vs Wales at Murrayfield, regarded by

Bill McLaren William Pollock McLaren (16 October 1923 – 19 January 2010) was a Scottish rugby union commentator, teacher, journalist and one time rugby player. Known as 'the voice of rugby', he retired from commentating in 2002. Renowned throughout th ...

as "one of the great tries". Whilst still injured, he left Bath and joined Harlequins, who he first played for in December 2000. Leaving Harlequins in 2001, he briefly joined Fylde and

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

before joining

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...

in 2002. He also briefly returned to the Scotland team in 2002. Peters usually played in the Number 8 position, is 1.96m tall and had a playing weight of 105 kg

Later career

Retiring from professional rugby in 2003, Peters became a Chartered Surveyor and Senior Associate at property consultants King Sturge, for whom he still plays rugby sevens, helping them win the RICS tournament 3 years in a row. He also commentates on rugby for BBC Radio 5 Live and is a celebrity supporter of the Orchid cancer charity.Orchid Cancer Celebrity Supporters
. Retrieved 5 February 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Eric 1969 births Living people Bath Rugby players Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Fylde Rugby Club players Harlequin F.C. players Connacht Rugby players Alumni of Hughes Hall, Cambridge Loughborough Students RUFC players People educated at Brentwood School, Essex Rotherham Titans players Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from Glasgow Scotland international rugby union players Scottish rugby union players 1995 Rugby World Cup players