James Gaskell (born 20 May 1990) 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 its m ...

player for Shokki Shuttles in the

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

. He plays as a 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 ...

. After making the debut for Sale in 2008, Gaskell was named the club's Breakthrough Player of the Year for the 2009/10 season. Gaskell was named club captain for the 2010/11 season, making him the youngest captain in the history of the Premiership. He was injured for much of the season, and returned in January 2011. The club's coach changed while Gaskell was injured, and a new captain was appointed.

Career

Gaskell was educated at

Sandbach School Sandbach School is a free school in Sandbach, Cheshire, north-west England. It was established in 1677 by local philanthropists, including Richard Lea, who donated the land for the school, and Francis Welles, who helped to fund the schoolhouse. ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

and first played rugby at Sandbach Rugby Club, and graduated from Sale Shark's rugby academy. In November 2008, the club suffered a crisis with 16 members of their 31-man senior squad either injured or unable to play due to international commitments. As a result, Gaskell was one of five academy players drafted into the side to make their Premiership debut in a match against

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 ...

. Two months later, Gaskell was named in England Under 20s Elite Squad for the Under 20s Six Nations. He was named Sale's Academy Player of the Year for the 2008/09 season. Gaskell scored his first try for the Sharks in a 27–26 win over Cardiff Blues at Edgley Park in the Heineken Cup on 16 October 2009. He was named Sale's Breakthrough Player of the Year and Player's Player of the Year for the 2009/10 season. Gaskell's try in a 21–16 win over against Harlequins on 1 January 2010 was voted Sale's try of the season. He sprinted over after receiving a pass from Neil Briggs to score his third try of the season. Gaskell was also voted Sale's "players' player of the season" for 2009/2010.

Mike Brewer Mike Brewer (born 28 August 1964) is an English car trader turned presenter of Driving, motoring television programmes. He currently presents ''Wheeler Dealers'' on the Discovery Channel (UK and Ireland), Discovery Channel with Marc "Elvis" Pri ...

replaced former Sale and England player Jason Robinson as the club's head coach in April 2010 after a season in which Sale narrowly avoided relegation from the Premiership. Brewer instigated a number of changes including signing more than ten new players and a releasing similar number. Announced on 31 August, one such change was the appointment of Gaskell as club captain for the 2010/11 season ahead of Sale's international players such as

Charlie Hodgson Charles Christopher Hodgson (born 12 November 1980) is a retired English rugby union player, having previously been a player for Sale Sharks and Saracens. His position was fly-half and he is the leading Premiership points scorer of all time. ...

and

Mark Cueto Mark John Cueto (born 26 December 1979 in Workington, Cumbria) is a former English international rugby union player. He played on the wing for Sale Sharks and England. He is currently the third leading try scorer in the Aviva Premiership. O ...

. Brewer explained the decision, saying that "I know it will be a surprise to a lot of people thanks to James' age but, as far as what I'm looking for in a captain which is someone to take the club forward on this journey which we're about to embark on. I see him as a key player in the squad over the next three to five years. The biggest trait I'm looking for in a captain is someone who is prepared to put his body on the line and someone who won't be asking others to do something he's not prepared to do himself. James might be only 20 but I think he's a lot older in terms of his experience and rugby knowledge and I think he'll be a real success for the team and I know the players are right behind him." At just 20 years and 106 days old, he was the youngest captain in the club's history, and in the history of the Premiership. At the time he had started just ten matches for the club. Early in the season, Gaskell suffered an injury scare in a match against

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

; it was feared he may have fractured his leg, however he was soon able to return to play for Sale. Less than a month later, in October, Gaskell suffered an injury to his ankle meaning he would be unable to play for 14 to 16 weeks. In Gaskell's absence, Neil Briggs was handed the captaincy for the rest of the season and it was planned that Gaskell would return to the captaincy at the start of the following season. In January 2011 Gaskell returned from injury, and scored a try in Sale's 28–22 win over Saracens. It was his third try for Sale in twenty matches. During Gaskell's absence Brewer was sacked, Sale having won three of their first nine Premiership matches of the season;

Pete Anglesea Anthony Peter Anglesea (born 30 October 1971 in Blackrod, Lancashire, England) was a rugby union rugby player, who played back row for the Sale Sharks. Highly regarded by Sale when forced to retire through injury in 2006, he first took a role wit ...

replaced Brewer as coach and soon after appointed winger

as captain. On 6 February 2014, Gaskell signed for the

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. T ...

from the 2014–15 season. On 22 August 2022, it was confirmed that Gaskell had left Wasps to join

club, Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi.

International career

Gaskell was selected for the England squad to face the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

in the summer of 2014.

References

External links

Sale Sharks profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaskell, James 1990 births Living people English rugby union players People educated at Sandbach School Sportspeople from Crewe Rugby union players from Crewe Sale Sharks players Rugby union flankers Rugby union locks Wasps RFC players Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi players English expatriate rugby union players in Japan