Jeff Probyn (born 27 April 1956 in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

former

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. The Old Albanian,

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

and Wasps prop was selected in England's squad for the

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 ...

, but Probyn did not make his international debut until 1988, at the age of 31, against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Inexblicably left out of the 1993 Lions squad that toured

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, Probyn toured

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

with a World XV in 1989, played for the Lions against France in 1989 and was a member of the

Wasps FC {{Infobox rugby team , teamname = Wasps Football Club , nickname = , image = WaspsFC1867.png , colours = Black and yellow , fullname = , founded = 1867 , ground = Twyford Avenue Sports Ground , capacity = , location = ...

side that won the English Courage league in 1990. Along with Stuart Barnes,

Wade Dooley Wade Dooley (born 2 October 1957) is a former England rugby union international who played lock forward. He played for his country 55 times and was known as the "Blackpool Tower", as a result of being 6 feet 8 inches tall and a police officer ...

Mike Teague Michael Clive Teague (born 8 October 1960) is a former England and British Lions rugby union footballer. Early life Teague was born and raised on a farm a few miles outside Gloucester. He attended Churchdown School. Personal life Teague mar ...

Peter Winterbottom Peter James Winterbottom (born 31 May 1960 in Otley, West Yorkshire), is a former England rugby union footballer who played as an openside flanker. He was England's most-capped openside (with 58 caps) until being overtaken by Neil Back in 20 ...

and

Jon Webb Jonathan Mark Webb (born 24 August 1963 in London, England) is a specialist knee surgeon and former English rugby union fullback. Webb played for the England national team from 1987 to 1993, reaching the 1991 World Cup Final and winning two F ...

, Probyn wore the England shirt for the last time in a 17–3 defeat by

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 ...

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

in 1993. In total, he won 37 caps for England and scored 3 tries. Probyn was fairly slight for a modern international

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

, and a good part of his effectiveness can be explained by his unusual physique: his bony shoulders sloped at a sharp angle, he was short in stature and his hips were widely set. In addition, he was able to scrum exceptionally low, making it hard for taller opponents to get any purchase on him at scrum time. Due to Probyn's scrummaging techniques some players took to cutting off the sleeves of their shirts as they believed this was how Jeff managed to get so low down in the scrum and would use the sleeves as leverage. After Probyn continued to keep the scrum incredibly low, it was evident that their sleeve cutting was unnecessary. After retirement from playing, Probyn was a member of ''Club England'', the Rugby Football Union Committee. He was the manager of the England U21 team from 1994 to 1997 during which time he introduced Clive Woodward and Andy Robinson as coaches to representative rugby. After managing the U21 teams tour of Australia, where they played as a warm up for the first ever Cooke cup game between England and Australia, he returned to the RFU council and sat on the Club England group that elected Woodward as England coach. He sat on the 2006 review that saw the replacement of England's World Cup winning coaches with the current team, led by Martin Johnson. After leaving the RFU, Probyn was critical of cross-code transfers, such as that of Andy Farrell.BBC SPORT , Rugby Union , English , Probyn slams Farrell recruitment
/ref> He also formed The Front Row Union Club F.R.U.C with fellow international front-row forwards Brian Moore and

Paul Rendall Paul Anthony George Rendall (18 February 1954 – 13 June 2023) was an English rugby union player. He played as a prop. Nicknamed "the Judge", Rendall played for London Wasps. Rendall had 28 caps for England, from 1984, when he was already 30 ...

. Probyn is an Honorary President of

Wooden Spoon Wooden Spoon may refer to: * Wooden spoon, implement * Wooden spoon (award) A wooden spoon is an award that is given to an individual or team that has come last in a competition. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous e ...

, the charity of British and Irish rugby. Probyn is also a regular on talkSPORT as their expert on Full Contact. Probyn is also a regular columnist in The Rugby Paper.

Statistics

* Physical: 1.78 metres, 102 kilograms * 37 caps (+ 1 nonofficial) for England * Selections per year: 8 in 1988, 3 in 1989, 7 in 1990, 11 in 1991, 4 in 1992, 4 in 1993 * Five Nations tournaments: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 1992 1993 * World Cups: 1991, 5 matches

References

External links

Wasps profile

Profile at Sporting Heroes

Career statistics at Scrum.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Probyn, Jeff 1956 births Living people Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England England international rugby union players English rugby union players People from Bethnal Green Rugby union players from Hackney Wasps RFC players Rugby union props