James Rodwell (born 23 August 1984) is an English

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

rugby sevens player who was part of the national squad from 2008 to 2019. He ended his career with records as the Worlds most capped sevens player, having played in the most consecutive tournaments (69) and most tournaments (93) in the

World Rugby Sevens Series The World Rugby Men's Sevens Series is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World Sevens Series, the com ...

. James is now Assistant coach for the Men’s and Women’s England Sevens teams.

Early life

Rodwell was born in

Wendover Wendover is a market town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road a ...

and began his education at Osmington School, Tring. He began playing rugby at the age of seven at Tring RFC, his local club. From the age of ten he played for

Berkhamsted Collegiate School Berkhamsted School is an independent day school in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. The present school was formed in 1997 by the amalgamation of the original Berkhamsted School, founded in 1541 by John Incent, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, ...

, figuring at

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

and full-back. Rodwell rapidly rose through representative squads, playing with Hertfordshire Schools 18 Group, London & South East U18, captaining North Midlands U20 and representing Midlands U20. During his time at Moseley Rugby Club in Birmingham, Rodwell was voted the U21 player of the year in 2004-05, the players’ player in 2006-07, and supporters’ player in 2008-09. At

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

Rodwell played mainly at Number 8 for the first team, developing into a key member of the leadership group of a club which valued on-field performance as well as social development. In 2005 he was selected for English Universities, followed by England Counties (2006) and England Sevens (2008). He completed his studies with a degree in Business Commerce.

Sevens

Rodwell made his

England sevens The England national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games. England's best finish in the Sevens Series is second place, which they have achieved four times, most recently i ...

debut against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

at Dubai in 2008. James was named IRB player of the tournament in the 2010

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

leg of the series. He represented England in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi where the team finished fourth. He also represented England in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

where the team finished fifth. Rodwell also won the Mark of Excellency award in the 2019 London 7's which also marks his last tournament in front of his home fans.

Honours

* Silver Medal (Great Britain):

Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics was held over six days in August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. The 2016 Olympics was the debut for rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics, though rugby union was last played at the 1924 games. The usual laws of ...

* National Trophy: 2009 * IRB player of the tournament Dubai 7s: 2010 * Wellington 7s: 2009 and 2013 * London 7s: 2009 *

Dubai 7s The Dubai Sevens is an annual rugby sevens and social event held at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai, UAE. Founded in 1970, the event is the longest running sports event in the Middle East. Events The Dubai Sevens has four competitions each year: ...

: 2010 and 2011 * Tokyo 7s: 2015 * Cape Town 7s: 2016 * Vancouver 7s: 2017

References

External links