Matthew "Matt" James Cook (born 17 May 1978) is a

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

-born Spanish international

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 it ...

player. He plays as a Flanker or a Number 8. Cook currently plays for

Tunbridge Wells RFC Tunbridge Wells RFC is an English Rugby union club that plays in Regional 1 South East from Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. History Tunbridge Wells RFC was officially formed as Old Skinners RFC in 1931 as a rugby union club for former pup ...

and the

Spain national rugby union team The Spain national rugby union team ( Spanish: '' Selección de rugby de España''), nicknamed Los Leones (''The Lions''), represents Spain in men's international rugby union competitions. The team is administered by the Spanish Rugby Federatio ...

Personal life

Born in

Saint Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; french: Saint-Hélier) is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of 35,822 – over one-third of the total population of Jersey – ...

, Cook was educated at De La Salle College.

Career

Cook started to play rugby at the age of 6 for

. In 1998 he moved from Jersey to England and signed for Bedford Blues where he made his debut in the

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 ...

on his 21st birthday against

Richmond RFC Richmond Football Club is a rugby union club from Richmond, London. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union, and is one of the oldest football clubs (of any code). It fields teams in both men's and women's rugby; the men's first ...

. In that match he scored two tries. This was his only senior game for Bedford Blues. He was later released by Bedford Blues and attempted to find another Premiership club. In 2003, he was signed by Blaydon RFC. When he was unable to join another Premiership club, he retired from rugby. In 2005, Cook moved to

Villajoyosa La Vila Joiosa () is a coastal town and municipality in the Province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. The town is known to the locals simply as La Vila. It is the historic and administrative capital of the '' c ...

, Spain and came out of retirement to sign for

CR La Vila Club de Rugby La Vila is a Spanish rugby team based in La Vila Joiosa, Spain. History Club de Rugby La Vila was established in 1982 by rugby fans from La Vila Joiosa city. The club played in regional divisions until 2008 when it achieved the p ...

. In 2009, he was selected to play for Olympus Rugby XV Madrid in the

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

. In 2013, Cook played for English amateur side, Tunbridge Wells RFC.

International career

In 2009, Cook was invited by the Spanish national team to join them in training camps. In 2010, Cook qualified to play for Spain under residency rules as he had lived in Spain for 5 years. He made his debut in a 2011 Rugby World Cup qualifier against

Russia national rugby union team The Russia national rugby union team (Russian: Сборная России по регби), nicknamed Medvedi (''The Bears''), represented Russia in men's international rugby union international competitions. The team is administered by the Rug ...

at Estadio Nacional Complutense in Madrid. This made him the second Jersey born player to win an international cap after

Matt Banahan Matthew Andrew Banahan (born 30 December 1986) is a former rugby union player who played for Bath and Gloucester in Premiership Rugby, between 2006 and 2021. Born in Jersey, he played 20 times for but capped 16 times between 2009 and 2011. His ...

was called up to the England national rugby union team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Matthew Jersey rugby union players Living people Rugby union number eights Rugby union flankers Spanish rugby union players Spain international rugby union players 1978 births Bedford Blues players People educated at De La Salle College, Jersey Alumni of the University of Northampton