Joe Gray (born 5 August 1988) 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 ...

coach for London Scottish in the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

and a retired player. He played for Harlequins in

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

across two spells. He is the only player in history to have won every trophy available to players in the top two tiers of English rugby, including both European trophies. He played as a hooker, and previously played for

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

and

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 ...

Career

Gray started his Rugby career at

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, he was part of the Nottinghamshire County Schools Rugby Club and also played with Notts, Lincs & Derby County side. Gray took part in a tour of Australia with Three Counties at the age of 15. He played for England under16's A and played for the England under 18's the following year while he was still only 16. Gray won the Churchill Cup with the England Saxons after starting the Challenge Cup final for Harlequins that they won in 2011. He started for Harlequins in their 2011–12 Premiership final victory over

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

. Following his 80 minutes in the final he toured with England that summer to South Africa and played in the two midweek uncapped games against the Barbarians. On 27 January 2019, Gray faced his old club Harlequins in a

Premiership Rugby Cup The Premiership Rugby Cup is an English rugby union knockout cup competition for teams in Premiership Rugby. It was created in 2018 to replace the Anglo-Welsh Cup after the withdrawal of the Welsh regions. History The Premiership Rugby Cup was ...

match, against

. An away win for Saracens, in which Gray came on in the second half as hooker. He was a replacement as Saracens won the

2019 European Rugby Champions Cup Final The 2019 European Rugby Champions Cup Final was the final match in the 2018–19 European Rugby Champions Cup, and the twenty-fourth European club rugby final in general. The final was between defending champions and four-time winners Leinster, a ...

. He returned to Harlequins on loan in January 2020 before signing full time with the club. Gray won his second Premiership title, this time as a replacement, as Harlequins won the game 40-38 in the highest scoring Premiership final ever on 26 June 2021. Gray got his first taste of club coaching with KCS Old Boys RFC in the 2015-16 season before going on to become the Director of Rugby at Barnes RFC. Following his retirement from playing at the end of the 2021–22 season. He became head coach at London Scottish.

International career

Gray was called up again to the England training squad by coach Stuart Lancaster in May 2014 and flew out with the squad for the Barbarians' fixtures. He made his England debut during the tour, coming off the bench in the 20-15 loss to New Zealand.

References

External links

Harlequins profile
1988 births Living people England international rugby union players English rugby union players Harlequin F.C. players Northampton Saints players Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from Nottingham Saracens F.C. players {{English-rugbyunion-bio-stub