Matt Cairns (born 31 March 1979) is a 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 who played at
hooker for
Harlequins and has been capped for 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 ...
national side as well as representing England in the
Saxons
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
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peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
and
Sevens teams as well as at several age group levels. He also played for a season with
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 has had two spells with
Saracens
file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...
. He retired on 14 February 2012 due to medical advice.
Early life
Born 31 March 1979 in
Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
, Cairns attended
Wirral Grammar School for Boys
(Wisdom is the Gateway to Life)
, established = 1931
, closed =
, type = Grammar school;Academy
, local_authority = Wirral MBC
, religious_affiliation =
, president =
, head_label =
, head ...
where he made his first representative appearances for the North Under-16s, followed by games at colts level for London and England while playing for
Wirral Rugby Club
Wirral Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Thornton Common Road, Clatterbridge, Wirral, England. It has many mini, junior teams from under-7s upwards, and runs colts and four senior men's teams, a ladies team (Wirral Warriors) an ...
. An all round sportsman, he also had trials for
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...
He then attended
Brunel University
Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1 ...
, playing at the time for England Students.
Playing career
Saracens 1998–2003
Cairns' first professional club was Saracens, joining the club's academy system and making two appearances for the first team as a substitute in the 1998–99 season,
followed by a debut appearance in the starting line up the following season, along with several more bench appearances.
In his third season he made several appearances in Saracens starting XVs and also recorded his maiden try.
In the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons Cairns was making regular first team appearances, with 2003 bringing another step up the international ladder, touring with the
England Saxons
England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...
in their
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 ...
campaign.
It was clear that in the 2003–04 season it became clear that Cairns would competing for his place with French captain
Raphaël Ibañez
Raphaël Ibañez (born 17 February 1973) is a retired French rugby union footballer. A hooker, he represented the France national team 98 times, and as captain 41 times. After a career in club rugby management, he became Team Manager for France ...
who had just been signed by Saracens, and he returned to the north for a spell with
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 ...
.
Sale Sharks 2003–04
Cairns spent a single season with
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 ...
, making ten starting appearances in their Guinness Premiership campaign, with a further eight bench appearances and scoring four Premiership tries.
He was once again called into the England Saxons side for their 2004 Churchill Cup tour,
before returning to Saracens.
Saracens 2004–2012
Cairns was soon a regular starter in Saracens line ups once again, despite facing competition for his place from the likes of Italian international
Fabio Ongaro
Fabio Ongaro (born 23 September 1977 in Venice) is an Italian rugby union footballer. Although he now plays as a hooker, he played in the Italian youth teams as a flanker.
Career
Ongaro first played for Rugby Casale (1994/95-1997/98), spending th ...
and Ireland's
Shane Byrne, making more than 20 appearances in each season since his return to Vicarage Road.
In the 2006–07 season he passed the 150 cap mark for Saracens in all competitions.
In the same season he reached another landmark when he was called up to the full
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 ...
side for their summer tour to South Africa, earning his first, and to date, only cap as a replacement during the first test against the
Springboks
The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
on 26 May 2007
before falling victim to the virus that prevented many England players being considered for the second test.
He signed a new contract with Saracens in 2006, that if completed will see Cairns mark ten years of service with the club.
Following the 2008/09 season Cairns was one of the bunch who were released by
Saracens
file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...
. Cairns has recently signed with London club
Harlequins and was named on the bench in the LV= Cup Match against The Llanelli Scarlet's.
References
External links
Saracens profileGuinness Premiership profilescrum.com ProfileRFU Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cairns, Matt
1979 births
Living people
Rugby union hookers
England international rugby union players
English rugby union players
Saracens F.C. players
Alumni of Brunel University London
People educated at Wirral Grammar School for Boys
Rugby union players from Birkenhead