Lee Mears (born 5 March 1979 in
Torquay
Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...
) is an Executive Leadership Coach. He proudly represented England playing rugby between 2004 and 2013. He earned 42 Cap played in two world cups and played for the British and Irish Lions on the 2009 tour of South Africa. His life of adventure has continued off the field he hold two world records. (Playing rugby at the North Pole and Mount Everest).
Early years
Mears first started playing rugby for the
Torquay Athletic mini team. Then after playing at Paignton College, he went to
Colston's School and came under the guidance of
Andy Robinson and Alan Martinovic. He has played for Devon, and all the England age group teams. In 1997 he was a member of the unbeaten England U18 Schools team that toured Australia. He played in three world cup matches in New Zealand for England U21s.
Senior team
Mears joined the Bath Academy in 1997 after leaving Colston's School. He managed to score on his first XV début in a friendly against
Saracens
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...
. Having made 268 Bath appearances over 16 seasons Mears had to retire following medical advice after routine cardiac screening.
International career
Mears was selected for the 2004
Churchill Cup
The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's (and formerly women's) teams from Canada, England, the United States, and other invited teams (originally one and later three) from a wide arr ...
squad but did not play in any of the games. The next year he helped England win the 2005 Churchill Cup and after being named in the Autumn test squad, he made his test début as a replacement against in November 2005. He came on as a replacement in the
2006 Six Nations Championship
The 2006 Six Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this ...
games against , and , and earned a start against .
In 2007, Mears was selected in the England squad for the
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
.
Mears was selected in the starting 15 against in the 2008 Six Nations. This came after several games trying to break into the side from the bench.
In June 2012, Mears announced his retirement from international Rugby.
On 11 February 2013, he retired with immediate effect following diagnosis of a heart condition.
References
External links
Bath profileGuinness Premiership profileEngland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mears, Lee
1979 births
Living people
England international rugby union players
English rugby union players
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England
Rugby union hookers
Bath Rugby players
People educated at Colston's School
Rugby union players from Torquay