Huw Bennett (born 11 June 1983) is a former

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

international

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 ...

hooker, who played most of his rugby career for the Ospreys. Starting his club rugby in Clevedon, Somerset, Bennett has since represented both Wales and

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 ...

at various age level; England U16s and England U18s, Wales U19s and Wales U21s. He made his debut for the Wales national senior side against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

during Wales' 2003 Rugby World Cup warm-ups, and was included in the squad for the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...

in Australia - he played in the games against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

. In 2004, he played against

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 ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

as part of the

2004 Six Nations Championship The 2004 Six Nations Championship was the fifth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy. Overall, this was the 110th series of the international championship. Match w ...

, in which Wales finished fourth. He was named in the squad for the 2004 summer tour to Argentina and South Africa, where he made his first international start in the second Test 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 ...

. Bennett did not play any tests in 2005, but was re-selected for the squad that would tour Argentina for their 2006 Summer tour. He played for Wales during the 2007 Rugby World Cup, playing just once - against Japan. Following this, he was selected for the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Six Nations Championship squads which included a Grand Slam victory in 2008, and subsequently also played in the 2011 Rugby World Cup acting as first choice Hooker. In 2012, he was re-selected again for Wales playing in the

2012 Six Nations Championship The 2012 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2012 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 13th series of the Six Nations Championship. The annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship wa ...

Grand Slam side, starting against Ireland, his fiftieth test cap, and Scotland, his final cap for Wales. During the match against Scotland, he was substituted at half time following an injury he picked up. This was later revealed to be an Achilles tendon injury, which was expected to keep Bennett out of the game for up to four to six months. This later led to Bennett joining French club

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

earlier than expected to start his 12-week recovery. However, in June 2013, Bennett announced his retirement due to recurring

Achilles tendon rupture Achilles tendon rupture is when the Achilles tendon, at the back of the ankle, breaks. Symptoms include the sudden onset of sharp pain in the heel. A snapping sound may be heard as the tendon breaks and walking becomes difficult. Rupture typica ...

injury, and would leave Lyon without ever playing for the team. On the 11 May 2014, Huw Bennett joined the Wales Coaching team, and was appointed as assistant strength and conditioning coach.Bennett lands Wales coaching role
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References

External links

Ospreys profileWales profileHuw Bennett
on rwc2003.irb.com

on rbs6nations.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Huw 1983 births Living people Ospreys (rugby union) players Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from Ebbw Vale Rugby union strength and conditioning coaches Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union coaches Welsh rugby union players Lyon OU players