Mark Regan

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 28 January 1972 in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

) is an English 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 ...

player. Nicknamed 'Ronnie', he played as a hooker for

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

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 ...

as well as

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 ...

and the

British and 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 ...

Career

Regan's England breakthrough came when he succeeded Brian Moore in 1995 for the visit of South Africa to Twickenham in November. He became the first player to make his England debut in the professional era of rugby union, which began in August of that year. Despite being on the losing side, he retained his place for the 1996 and 1997 Five Nations championships. Selected for the

1997 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa The 1997 British Lions tour to South Africa was a series of matches played by the British Lions rugby union team in South Africa. This tour followed the Lions' 1993 tour to New Zealand and preceded their 2001 tour to Australia. The much-ant ...

, he was kept out of the first and second tests by

Keith Wood Keith Wood (born 27 January 1972) is an Irish former international rugby union player who played as a hooker for Ireland, the British & Irish Lions, Garryowen, Harlequins and Munster. He was nicknamed 'The Raging Potato' because of his bal ...

, but played in the final test. He lost form on his return from Lions duty and lost his England place to new club mate

Andy Long Andy Long (born 2 September 1977) is a former English rugby union player who played at Hooker. He has 2 caps for England. Originally a product of Bournemouth and the Bath academy, where he came to the attention of Bath coach Clive Woodward, h ...

and then

Richard Cockerill Richard Cockerill (born 16 December 1970) is an English rugby union coach and former player, he was the national team's interim head coach between Eddie Jones and Steve Borthwick. He played as a hooker, spending the majority of his career at ...

. Even though he played a major role in

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

victory over

Brive Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglomeration was 75 ...

in Bordeaux, the hooker was out of favour with England Coach

Clive Woodward Sir Clive Ronald Woodward (born 6 January 1956) is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He also coached the 2005 British & Irish Lions ...

. In 1999/2000, Regan re-emerged as a player: he shed over a stone in weight and hit back at critics who believed his line-out throwing was too inconsistent for international level by turning in some impressive performances for Bath. A prominent figure in the clubs late season challenge for the

Allied Dunbar Premiership 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 ...

, he was voted the Bath forward of the year. Regan returned to the international scene as a training squad member and England A player. He returned to the

squad on the tour to South Africa in 2000. He played some of the best rugby of his career and selection for the autumn internationals followed.

Phil Greening Phil Greening (born 3 October 1975) is an English former rugby union footballer who played as a hooker. Greening finished his rugby career with London Wasps in 2005. During his career he earned 24 caps for England, as well as going to Austral ...

's knee and hand injuries allowed him to take over as England's number one hooker for the Six Nations Championship; however,

opted for

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 ...

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 poli ...

and Regan was forced to sit on the bench for most of the campaign. Though he missed out on the Lions tour to Australia during the summer, Regan was selected for

's summer tour. However, hindered by his injury, Regan struggled to find his early season form. He remained part of the

set-up for the 2001-2002 season and again went on tour in the summer to Argentina. Regan joined

in August 2002 from Bath and quickly became a central figure at Headingley. He made his debut on the opening day of the 2002-2003 season in a 26-13 win over

. After moving to Leeds his displays not only saw him become a crowd favourite but also saw a revival in his international career, as he was selected for the England squad for the

2003 Rugby 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 ...

. Regan announced his international retirement in 2004 after not being selected for the game against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He left Leeds at the end of the 2004-05 season having helped secure Leeds Premiership status, as well as winning a

Powergen Cup The RFU Knockout Cup was an English rugby union competition open to any member of the Rugby Football Union. First contested in 1971, it was the premier competition in English club rugby before the establishment of the English league structure in 1 ...

winners medal, the final of which he started. He played 69 times for Leeds and scored 6 tries. In 2005-6 he was instrumental in helping newly promoted

(his hometown club) retain their Premiership status. He came out of international retirement in 2007 and was impressive in England's otherwise lacklustre tour of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Consequently, he was named in the England squad for the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

. He was also named in the England squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship alongside Leicester's

George Chuter George Scala Chuter (born 9 July 1976) is an English rugby union ex player who played at Hooker for Leicester Tigers. Biography Chuter was born in Greenwich. He first started playing as a 12-year-old, when he went to Trinity School of John W ...

and Bath's

Lee Mears Lee Mears (born 5 March 1979 in Torquay) 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 ...

. After the world cup, Regan was selected to captain the

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 c ...

against but was refused permission to play from Bristol. However, Regan ignored the club and played the game anyway. After England beat

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

24-13 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in the

2008 Six Nations Championship The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, the 114th series of the international championship. Fifteen ...

, Regan was described by French coach

Marc Lièvremont Marc Lièvremont (born 28 October 1968) is a former rugby union footballer and was the head coach of the French national rugby union team. He played as a back-row forward for France, gaining 25 caps from 1995 to 1999, and was selected in France's ...

as a 'grotesque clown'. This was to be Regan's last appearance for England. In February 2009, Regan announced his intention to retire at the end of the season. He is now Forwards Coach at Clifton Rugby Club playing a part in leading them to the South West One title and the EDF Cup Final at Twickenham. He is also currently involved in the buy-to-let property market, working with property investment companies Midas Estates and Property Investment Plan.

Honours

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

Winner 1998 * Powergen Cup/Anglo-Welsh Cup titles: 1 **2005 *

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

Winner

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

References

External links

England profileProfile at Bristol RugbyMark Regan photo by sportingheroes.netRegans career in pictures - BBC.co.ukMark Regan EnterprisesMidas Estates
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regan, Mark 1972 births Living people English rugby union players Rugby union hookers Members of the Order of the British Empire Bristol Bears players Leeds Tykes players Barbarian F.C. players Bath Rugby players Rugby union players from Bristol England international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England