Gavin Quinnell (born 25 November 1983 in

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

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 ...

) is a former

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

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. His career was ended as a result of an eye gouge in a Welsh premiership game. He played for several teams in England, Wales and Italy but finished his career with Magners league side Llanelli Scarlets. He is the son of

Derek Quinnell Derek Leslie Quinnell (born 22 May 1949 in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire) is a former Welsh rugby union player. He played as a lock-forward and as a number eight. He was capped for Wales youth 1967/8 season. Club career Educated at Coleshill Seco ...

and brother of

Scott Quinnell Scott Quinnell (born 20 August 1972) is a Welsh former dual-code rugby union and rugby league player who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He was a number 8 for Wales, Llanelli RFC, Llanelli Scarlets, Richmond and the British & Irish Lions in rugb ...

and

Craig Quinnell Craig Quinnell (born 9 July 1975, Swansea) is a former Welsh Rugby Union player. Quinnell played 54 games for the Cardiff club between November 1999 and May 2002 and established himself as one of the backbones of the pack. Though often in the ...

, all former Wales internationals. Before joining

Llanelli Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

he started rugby in his home village for Furnace United RFC, as a youth player where he played mainly at Number 8. In 2006 he left the Llanelli Scarlets to join

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in Administration (law), administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top ...

in a two-year deal. He scored a total of nine tries in 20 appearances in his first season at Sixways and quickly became a cult hero with his all-action displays. Quinnell can play at Number 8, flanker or

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 ...

and established himself as a powerful impact player for Warriors. After not being offered a new contract by Worcester at the end of the 2007–08 season, Gavin Quinnell was forced to find a new club. He then moved on to Italian Super 10 (now

Top12 The Top10, known as the Peroni Top10 for sponsorship reasons, and formerly Top 12, is Italy's top level professional men's rugby union competition. The Top 10 is run by Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR) and is contested by 10 teams as of the 2019� ...

) club

Viadana Viadana may refer to: Surname * Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (c. 1560 – 1627), Italian composer, teacher, and Franciscan friar * Gilberto Viadana (born 1973), Italian figure skater Other * Viadana, Lombardy, a town in the province of Mantua, Lom ...

. On 23 July 2010, Quinnell rejoined his former team

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

on a two-year contract. Quinnell suffered an eye injury 30 minutes into a game against Cross Keys on 2 October 2010. The following Thursday it was confirmed that, despite the best efforts of surgeons, he had lost the sight in his left eye. A Cross Keys player was arrested on suspicion of assault but following investigation by

Gwent Police Gwent Police ( cy, Heddlu Gwent) is a territorial police force in Wales, responsible for policing the local authority areas of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen. The force was formed in 1967 by the amalgamation o ...

criminal charges were not pursued.Quinnell investigation
/ref>

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20050209003059/http://www.rugbyviadana.it/eng/home.asp
Worcester Warriors Profile
at WRFC.co.uk
Guinness Premiership Profile
at GuinnessPremiership.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinnell, Gavin 1983 births Living people Rugby union controversies Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from Llanelli Scarlets players Welsh rugby union players Worcester Warriors players