Mathew James Murray Tait (born 6 February 1986) is a retired English
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 who gained 38 caps for between 2005–2010, including starting in the
2007 Rugby World Cup Final; and played 279 club games for
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 ...
,
Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...
and
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 ...
between 2004 and 2018. He was considered a utility back regularly playing at
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 ...
,
fullback or
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 ...
. Tait made his Newcastle debut in 2004 and made his England debut at 18 years old in 2005, at the time the second youngest England player selected since the second World War. He played 87 times for Newcastle before joining Sale in 2008 where he played 49 times. Tait joined Leicester in 2011 and made 143 appearances between his 2011 debut and retirement. Whilst at Leicester Tait started the
2013 Premiership Rugby Final
Thirteen or 13 may refer to:
* 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14
* One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013
Music
* 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band
Albums
* ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013
* ...
which Leicester won as well as the
2017 Anglo-Welsh Cup Final, which Leicester also won. His final game was on 5 May 2018 against former club Sale.
Club career
Born 6 February 1986, in
Shotley Bridge
Shotley Bridge is a village, adjoining the town of Consett in County Durham, England. It is on the A694 road and beside the River Derwent which is crossed by the bridge giving the name. It was once the heart of Britain's swordmaking industry.
...
,
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East E ...
, Tait attended
Barnard Castle School
Barnard Castle School (colloquially Barney School or locally the County School) is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day and boarding school in the market town of Barnard Castle, County Durham, in the North East Engl ...
, where he was a member of the school 1st XV which appeared in the
Daily Mail Cup
The National Schools Cup are a set of annual English schools' rugby union cup competitions, with the U18 Cup being the main competition. The finals of the Cup and Vase competitions are held at Twickenham Stadium, whilst finals for the Plate and Bow ...
Final for two successive seasons. The school has also produced England internationals
Rob Andrew
Christopher Robert Andrew (born 18 February 1963) is a former English Rugby Union player and was, until April 2016, Professional Rugby Director at the RFU.
He was formerly the Director of Rugby of Newcastle Falcons and has been Chief Executiv ...
,
Rory Underwood
Rory Underwood, (born 19 June 1963) is an English former rugby union player, he is 's record international try scorer with 49 tries in 85 internationals between 1984 and 1996. Underwood's principal position was wing and he played 236 games for ...
, and
Tony Underwood
Tony Underwood (born 17 February 1969 in Ipoh, Malaysia) is a former English rugby union footballer who played as a wing three-quarter back. He is of Malaysian-English parentage.
Rugby career
His rugby talent was first nurtured at Barnard Castl ...
.
Newcastle Falcons signed the centre on contract in April 2004 while he was still finishing his A levels, in which he achieved 3 A's. In May 2004 he made his debut in an
English Premiership
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
game against
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 ...
and scored a try with his first touch of the ball.
On 3 May 2008 Tait agreed to a deal to leave the Falcons to sign for Sale Sharks. Tait was linked up with All-Black centre
Luke McAlister
Charles Luke McAlister (born 28 August 1983 in Waitara) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays at fly-half and at centre. He is the brother of New Zealand women's sevens player Kayla McAlister and son of rugby league footballer Char ...
. During the
2008-09 Guinness Premiership season Tait suffered several injuries and was experimented at full-back. However, as the season continued and entered its latter stages, Tait began to play at his preferred position of outside centre and put in performances that ensured he was selected for
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 ...
again.
Tait's 2010/11 season was hampered by injury. Complications during knee surgery meant he was unable to play for Sale until late October, and he missed much of November when the problem flared up again. In January Tait suffered a dislocated shoulder during an
Amlin Cup match against
Cetransa El Salvador; the injury threatened to rule him out of the rest of the season and forced him out of the England Saxons squad.
Tait ended his career at
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 ...
, for whom he signed ahead of the 2011-12 season. Tait started the final as Leicester won the 2013 Premiership title. He retired in 2018.
International career
In 2002, he was capped as
outside centre
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...
by England U16 then U18 and by England under 19 when he was still at school. This was where he was spotted by the National Academy manager,
Brian Ashton, who selected him for the Junior National Academy in 2003–04. The then seventeen-year-old was fast-tracked into the Senior National Academy.
Tait has also played for
England's rugby sevens team, he was a member of the side that won the
Dubai Sevens
The Dubai Sevens is an annual rugby sevens and social event held at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai, UAE. Founded in 1970, the event is the longest running sports event in the Middle East.
Events
The Dubai Sevens has four competitions each year ...
in December 2004.
Tait gained media attention when
Andy Robinson
Richard Andrew Robinson OBE (born 3 April 1964) is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He was the director of rugby at Bristol until November 2016. He is the former head coach of Scotland and England. From September 2019 to Decemb ...
named him 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 ...
starting XV for their opening 2005
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...
game, against
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
on 5 February, which England lost 11–9. Tait failed to make an impact either in attack or defence and was the victim of two tackles from
Gavin Henson
Gavin Lloyd Henson (born 1 February 1982) is a Welsh former professional rugby union player, who played as a fly-half, fullback and inside centre.
Between 2000 and 2019 he played for Llanelli, Swansea RFC, the Ospreys, Saracens, Toulon, Ca ...
before eventually being replaced. At just under 19 years of age, he was the second-youngest player to have played for England since
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, with only his Newcastle teammate
Jonny Wilkinson
Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 25 May 1979) is an English former rugby union player. A Fly-half (rugby union), fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and RC Toulonnais, Toulon and represente ...
having played at a younger age. He was dropped after the game but later regained his place in the England squad, missing out on the first game of England's 2006 autumn campaign against New Zealand only through injury. He last played a full international for England in 2010.
During his absence from the test squad, Tait was a regular member of
England's rugby sevens team. He starred at the sevens tournament in the
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...
in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, finishing as the tournament's top try-scorer, with nine tries, as he helped England to the silver medal.
In 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 made a return to the England squad and was the youngest player in the squad.
Comments made about his performance and ability during and after the 2007 World Cup include
Mike Catt
Michael John Catt OBE (born 17 September 1971) is a South African-born former rugby union player who played for the England national rugby union team. He played professionally for the clubs London Irish and Bath. He earned 75 international cap ...
hailing him as "the future of English rugby", particularly praising his performance against Tonga. Others have said he is "the exemplar of the coming generation" and that he "came of age in the final"
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 ...
he scored a try in England's 33–10 win over
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 ...
.
After an injury-ridden start to the
2008-09 Guinness Premiership season, Tait began to play at his preferred position of outside centre and put in performances that ensured he was selected for
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 ...
for the tests against
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, RepĂşblica 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 ...
and
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 ...
.
In July 2009 Tait was selected in
Martin Johnson's 32-man elite squad for the second year, and was also selected for England's opening game against Wales in the 2010 Six Nations, again under Johnson's management, starting at outside centre. Another season filled with injuries meant Tait was not selected for the 2011 World Cup squad.
Personal life
In 2006, he started a Biomedical Science degree at Newcastle University. After moving to Sale, he suspended his studies at the University. He is currently training to become a pilot,
having expressed an interest in becoming a commercial pilot when he retires from rugby.
References
External links
Leicester Tigers Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tait, Mathew
1986 births
Living people
Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens
Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players of England
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England
England international rugby sevens players
England international rugby union players
English rugby union players
Leicester Tigers players
Male rugby sevens players
Newcastle Falcons players
People educated at Barnard Castle School
Rugby sevens players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Rugby union centres
Rugby union players from Shotley Bridge
Sale Sharks players