Joshua "Josh" Turnbull (born 12 March 1988) is a

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 ...

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 its m ...

player, who currently plays in the Back row and Second row for Cardiff Rugby in the

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

league having previously played for the

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 ...

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llanelli) is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pembert ...

and

Llandovery RFC Llandovery RFC ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llanymddyfri) is a Wales, Welsh rugby union club based in Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The club is an inaugural member of the Welsh Rugby Union, currently play in the Welsh Premier Division and is a feeder ...

. Born in

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

, Turnbull is a fluent

speaker.

Club career

Turnbull made his Scarlets debut in 2007, in a pre season friendly against

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

. In June 2014 Turnbull joined Cardiff from the Scarlets. He made 130 appearances for the Scarlets over a seven year period. Ahead of the 2021–22 United Rugby Championship season, Turnbull was named as captain, taking over from Ellis Jenkins. In 2020, Turnbull started coaching at

Carmarthen Quins RFC Carmarthen Quins Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cwins Caerfyrddin) are one of two Welsh rugby union clubs based in Carmarthen in West Wales, the other being Carmarthen Athletic. They currently play in the Welsh Premier Division and are a ...

, initially as forwards coach, but moving to defence coach in 2022.

International career

Turnbull has represented Wales at U18, U19, and U20 levels; winning the Grand Slam with Wales U19 in 2006. Turnbull has participated in two 2006 & 2007 IRB U19 World Championships. He was in the Wales U20 squad for the 2008 Under-20 Six Nations and Junior World Championship. In January 2011 Turnbull was named the

Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team ( cy, Tîm rygbi'r undeb cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played thei ...

for the

2011 Six Nations Championship The 2011 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2011 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 12th series of the Six Nations Championship, and the 117th edition of the international championship. The annual rugby uni ...

and made his international debut 12 February 2011 in the 24–6 win against Scotland as a second-half replacement. He was named in the preliminary squad for the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

but was left out of the final squad. Turnbull made his first start for Wales on 2 June 2012, in a capped friendly against 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 ...

. He featured intermittently for Wales for the next few seasons, playing in both tests against South Africa on the 2014 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa, including a start in the second test. Turnbull was selected in the squad for the 2016 Six Nations, but did not earn any further caps during the tournament. He came off the bench in the friendly against England, ahead of the 2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand, and was named in the tour squad, but was not selected in any further matchday squads. It wasn't until the 2018 Wales rugby union tour to Argentina and the United States that Turnbull featured for Wales again, earning a call up after former Scarlets teammate

Aaron Shingler Aaron Craig Shingler (born 7 August 1987) is a Wales international rugby union player and former cricketer. His usual rugby position is flanker. Background Born 7 August 1987, Shingler grew up in the west of Wales, attending Pontarddulais Com ...

was ruled out due to injury. Turnbull came off the bench in both tests, as Wales won the series 2–0. On the back of an impressive season for Cardiff, Turnbull again earned a recall for the

2021 July rugby union tests The 2021 mid-year rugby union internationals (also known as the summer internationals in the Northern Hemisphere) were a series of international rugby union matches that are typically played in the Southern Hemisphere during the July international ...

, coming off the bench against Canada and Argentina, before starting in the final test against Argentina in his familiar role of blindside flanker.

Personal life

Turnbull was married on 23 July 2016 and has two daughters.

References

External links

Cardiff Rugby profileScarlets profile(archived 28-1-10)Wales profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnbull, Josh 1988 births Living people Llanelli RFC players Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Haverfordwest Scarlets players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Cardiff Rugby players Rugby union locks Rugby union number eights