Lee Blackett (born 21 November 1982 in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, United Kingdom) 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 ...

footballer. Educated at King Edward VII and Queen Mary School in

Lytham Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 42,954 ...

, he played some of his earlier rugby at

Fylde Rugby Club Fylde Rugby Union Club is a rugby union club based in Lytham St Annes, on the Fylde coast in Lancashire, England. The home venue is the Woodlands Memorial Ground on Blackpool Road in Ansdell and the first team play in English rugby's Nation ...

. His usual positions were at

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

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 eccentricity ...

. He played for and captained

Rotherham Titans Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans is a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following their relegation from the Nat ...

in the Championship before spending six seasons playing for

Leeds Tykes Leeds Tykes (formerly Leeds RUFC, Leeds Carnegie and Yorkshire Carnegie) is an English rugby union club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the National League 1. The club was founded as Headingley FC, but renamed in 1991 when it j ...

in the Premiership. In 2013, aged 30, he became the youngest coach in the Championship, when he returned to Rotherham Titans. He joined

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. T ...

as backs coach in 2015 He was appointed interim head coach of Wasps in February 2020 after it was announced

Dai Young David "Dai" Young (born 26 July 1967) is a Welsh rugby union coach and former rugby union and rugby league footballer. He was recently Director of Rugby at Premiership Rugby club Wasps but departed the club after initially stepping down from f ...

had stepped down from first-team coaching duties. A role which was later made permanent. He was made redundant on 17 October 2022 when Wasps entered administration. In November 2022, he was appointed a backs coach at Welsh side

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 ...

Background

Yorkshire Carnegie Tykes initially signed Blackett, a former Rotherham R.U.F.C., Rotherham Titans

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, near the end of the 2005/2006 season, on loan. He was traded with

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 ...

James Isaacson James Isaacson (born 7 January 1980 in Easington, County Durham) is an English former rugby union footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played at club level for Newcastle Falcons and Leeds Carnegie, as a Prop, or Hooker. He was e ...

who went to Rotherham. He made his debut for the Tykes against

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 ...

on 10 March 2006 in the 2005-06 Guinness Premiership and he made a further two appearances that season. He is a popular player and has many nicknames. These are generally based around his uncanny resemblance to famous figures; namely Leo Cullen of

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

and

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 ...

Ian Dowie Iain Dowie (born 9 January 1965) is a football manager, former professional footballer and sports television pundit. He played as a striker from 1983 until 2001, notably in the Premier League for Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Ham Unite ...

(retired footballer) and most notably,

Earthworm Jim ''Earthworm Jim'' is a series of platform games featuring an earthworm named Jim who wears a robotic suit and battles the forces of evil. The series is noted for its platforming and shooting gameplay, surreal humor, and edgy art style. Four game ...

. A product of the Rotherham Titans Academy, Blackett was one of the Titans more consistent players after breaking through to the first XV, going onto make 50 appearances for the club and later being honoured with the role of

at just the age of 23. Blackett gained representative honours with the

England Counties XV England Counties XV is a representative rugby union team, formed in 2002, open to English players who play in the County Championship and the third tier (and below) of the English rugby union system. Players from the Premiership and RFU Champi ...

and was part of the squad that went on tour to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. He spent four seasons with the Titans, gaining some Premiership experience with the side in 2004 when he made his full senior debut against Bath. Blackett went on to make a handful of appearances before the side were eventually relegated. In the

National Division One 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 ...

he established himself as the first choice No. 12 and in the 2004–05 campaign was an almost ever-present, making 24 appearances for the side and scoring five tries. Blackett has plenty of experience playing in the

and whilst with Rotherham was regarded as one of the division's top players, with a strong reputation as a reliable defender. Despite only joining the Tykes until the end of the 2005–06 season, Blackett was one of the few players who committed their future to the club at the end of the season; which ended in relegation. Blackett attended and represented

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Cr ...

's 1st XV, playing alongside

Sean Lamont Sean Lamont (born 15 January 1981) is a Scottish former international rugby union player and now Strength and Conditioning Coach. He played at centre and on the wing. He gained 105 caps for Scotland before retiring from international rugby in 2 ...

and

David Strettle David Strettle, (born 23 July 1983), is a former English rugby union wing. Early life Strettle grew up in Thelwall, Cheshire, attending Lymm High School and playing for Lymm RFC. Strettle then went on to study at Sheffield Hallam Universi ...

. On 21 March 2008, Blackett scored the Guinness Premiership's fastest-ever try, against

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

in the 2007-08 Guinness Premiership, crossing the try line after just 8.2 seconds.

References

External links

Lee Blackett – profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackett, Lee 1982 births Living people Alumni of Sheffield Hallam University English rugby union players Fylde Rugby Club players Leeds Tykes players People educated at King Edward VII and Queen Mary School Rotherham Titans players Rugby union players from Chester