Mark Bedworth, known locally as Bedders, is a

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

Footballer who is currently player Coach at

Westoe RFC South Shields Westoe RFC (formerly Westoe RFC) is a Rugby Union Football Club which currently plays in Durham/Northumberland 1 (tier 7 of the English rugby union system) at Wood Terrace, South Shields. The club changed its name from Westoe RF ...

. Mark Bedworth was born in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

City in 1982 and attended Bow Preparatory School before moving onto

Durham School Durham School is an independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located in Durham, North East England and was an all-boys institution until 1985, when girls were admitted to the sixth form. The school takes pupils ...

where he is now a teacher of Physical Education. Having completed his A-levels, he continued to university in York. An excellent points kicker he became one of the all-time top scorers in

National League 2 North National League 2 North is one of three, level four leagues in the English rugby union system and provides semi-professional competition for teams in the northern half of England, the North. The remainder of England is covered by the two counte ...

and

National League 1 National One (last season known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Leagu ...

with over 2,000 points scored between the two divisions. Bedders is also well regarded for his unique

Coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

style, being quoted "it's better to pull out early than not pull out at all," when recounting a

High tackle A high tackle is an illegal tackling move in rugby football. A high tackle occurs when a player tackles or attempts to tackle an opponent whereby their arm makes contact with the ball carrier’s chest. The move is dangerous due to the risk of inj ...

Rugby union career

Bedworth began his career at

Darlington Mowden Park RFC Darlington Mowden Park is a professional rugby union club, based in Darlington, County Durham, England. They currently compete in National League 1, the third division of the Rugby Football Union domestic league competition pyramid, having ach ...

at the age of 18 helping the club to win promotion to

National Division Three North National League 2 North is one of three, level four leagues in the English rugby union system and provides semi-professional competition for teams in the northern half of England, the North. The remainder of England is covered by the two coun ...

before moving on to play in

with

Wharfedale Wharfedale ( ) is the valley of the upper parts of the River Wharfe and one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated within the districts of Craven and Harrogate in North Yorkshire, and the cities of Leeds and Bradford in West Yorkshire. It ...

at the start of the 2005–06 season. He scored more than 1,000 points for Wharfedale in over 100 games before moving to

Westoe Westoe was originally a village near South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England, but has since become part of the town and is now used to refer to the area of the town where the village once was. It is also an electoral ward for local politics purposes ...

as a player coach in 2010 where he finished his career at the end of the 2011–12 season. Throughout his career Bedworth was a great kicker averaging over 200 points a season for the three north-east clubs he played for and is one of the top scorers of all time in.

. In a 10-year career he has represented

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 Cham ...

in 2007 which included a tour of Russia where he scored one try. He also represented The full

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 ...

XV twice and County Durham at County Level throughout his career.

Season-by-season playing stats

Honours

Darlington Mowden Park * North Division 1 champions: 2000-01 Wharfedale * Yorkshire Cup winners: 2010-11 County/Representative *Selected for Durham County *Selected for

: 2007, 2009 *Selected for Barbarians XV: 2007-09

References

External links

Westoe RFC

Durham Rugby
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedworth, Mark 1982 births Durham County RFU players English rugby union players Living people People educated at Durham School Rugby union players from Durham, England Wharfedale R.U.F.C. players Rugby union fly-halves