Julian Martin White
MBE (born 14 May 1973) is an English Landowner, best known for his time playing professional
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 it ...
as a
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 ...
for
Leicester Tigers and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. White was regarded as an aggressive
tighthead prop, one of the most powerful forwards in the game, and for his destructive
scrummaging.
Biography
White was born 14 May 1973 in
Plymouth,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
. As a child he played mini and junior rugby for Salcombe and had played in the same senior side as his father, a former
Plymouth Albion player. He served his rugby union apprenticeship with
Okehampton
Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and had a population of 5,922 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards are based in the town (east and west) ...
and
Plymouth Albion and had a spell in New Zealand with
Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region i ...
and
Canterbury Crusaders
The Crusaders (formerly Canterbury Crusaders and BNZ Crusaders due to sponsorship by the Bank of New Zealand) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch, who compete in the Super Rugby competition. They are the mos ...
. He made his debut for Hawke's Bay in August 1996 and appeared in the
NZ Provincial Championship. He made his only
Super 12 appearance as a replacement for the
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
against Natal in Christchurch in April 1997.
His time in New Zealand ended in tragedy; he was involved in an auto accident in which a young woman was killed and he suffered a broken leg. As he remembers it,
He returned to the UK when a Welsh coach who had worked with White at Hawke's Bay told him that Bridgend desperately needed a tighthead.
White played for Bridgend in 1998–99 before moving to
Saracens in 1999. He swiftly made his Premiership debut in the 28–23 defeat of
London Irish
London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...
at
Vicarage Road
Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of championship club Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200.
History
It has been the home of Watford since 1922, when the club moved from Cas ...
, Watford on the opening weekend of the season.
White made his
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
debut against
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
on England's Summer 2000 tour there. He appeared in his first
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
Test against
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in November 2001, playing until half time when he was replaced by
Phil Vickery.
He toured North America in the summer of 2001, forming a solid front row with
Graham Rowntree
Graham Christopher Rowntree (born 18 April 1971) is an English rugby union former player and current head coach of Irish club Munster. He played loosehead prop for Leicester Tigers and England. He was capped 54 times for England, despite havi ...
and
Dorian West
Dorian Edward West MBE (born 5 October 1967) nicknamed "Nobby" is a former English international rugby union footballer.
West was born in Wrexham, Wales, but his family moved to England when he was young. Before professionalism, he was a pol ...
.
At the start of the 2001–02 season he transferred back to the West Country with
Bristol Shoguns
Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...
. This occurred after a protracted affair where White had attempted to get out of the contract he had signed with Bristol. White did not endear himself to Bristol supporters as he had tried to break out of his contract to join bitter local rivals Bath. In the event, White did become a Bristol player. Along with teammate
Daryl Gibson, he joined
Leicester Tigers for the 2003–04 season after Bristol were relegated. Replacing the retiring
Darren Garforth, his
Leicester debut was held over as he was in Australia on duty with England at the
2003 Rugby Union World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...
.
During the World Cup he was in the starting line up against
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
and came on as a replacement against
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
. As part of the victorious squad, White was awarded an
MBE.
In 2004, White took the opportunity to demonstrate his
scrummaging skills in the
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
front row during the Six Nations and the summer tour to the Southern Hemisphere.
He was one of the players named in the 2005
British & Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
squad to
tour New Zealand, and started in all three tests.
Prior to the
2007 Rugby Union World Cup, White made himself unavailable for selection and did not feature in another England game. In January 2009, it was announced that he had been selected for the England Saxons squad.
Later that year, following the suspension of
Matt Stevens, he was called up to the full England squad as a replacement.
White was part of the Leicester squads that won the 2007 and 2009 Premiership finals.
Personal life
White met his Welsh wife, Sara, in a Cardiff bar in 2004. The couple have two daughters.
References
External links
England profilesporting heroesProfile at Leicester Tigers
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Julian
1973 births
Living people
Bristol Bears players
England international rugby union players
English rugby union players
Leicester Tigers players
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Rugby union players from Plymouth, Devon
Plymouth Albion R.F.C. players
Rugby union props
Saracens F.C. players
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England