Nic Dolly (born 11 June 1999) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a

hooker Hooker may refer to: People * Hooker (surname) Places Antarctica * Mount Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (South Shetland Islands) New Zealand * Hooker River * Mount Hooker (New Zealand) in the Southern Alps * Hoo ...

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 ...

in Premiership Rugby. Born in Australia, Dolly is English qualified though his mother, represented the England under 20 side at the

2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the twelfth edition of the premier age-grade competition for rugby. The tournament was held in Argentina for the second time, having been hosted there in 2010. Defending champions France won the un ...

and made his debut for the senior England team in 2021.

Early life

Dolly grew up in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and initially played rugby union for Eastwood Rugby Club and

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...

junior age sides. His maternal grandparents lived in Denton, Greater Manchester and while on an extended visit he was spotted by

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 ...

. He subsequently joined their under 18s.

Career

In 2017 Dolly signed a five-year contract with

, before spending time on duel-registration with

Rotherham Titans Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans is a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following their relegation from t ...

in the RFU Championship, and Sale F.C. in National League 2 North. In 2017 he also represented the England under-18 team. On 28 August 2019 Jersey Reds announced the signing of Dolly of a year long loan. He represented England under-20 in the

2019 Six Nations Under 20s Championship The 2019 Six Nations Under 20s Championship was the 12th series of the Six Nations Under 20s Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. France were the defending champions. Ireland won the tournament and a Grand Slam, a ...

and was also a member of the squad that finished fifth at the

. In February 2021 Dolly joined Coventry for the delayed 2021 RFU Championship season, and scored three tries in as many matches. On 26 March 2021 he joined local rivals

on what was reported as a multi-year deal. Dolly made his first Premiership start against Exeter Chiefs on 18 September 2021, Dolly scored two tries, the first forward to do so on his Premiership debut for over 20 years. The following week he scored again in a win versus Gloucester and was named as BT Sports' ''man of the match''. He scored further tries against London Irish and Worcester Warriors, after which Dolly was called up to the senior England squad in October 2021 for Tests against Tonga, Australia and South Africa. Dolly made his international debut for England against South Africa on 20 November 2021. Dolly was selected in the squad for the

2022 Six Nations Championship The 2022 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 23rd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England national rugby union team, England ...

but did not feature in the matches, his form for Leicester earned him a call up to an England training camp in May 2022 but on 21 May 2022 Dolly suffered a significant knee injury following an illegal crocodile roll by

Adam Brocklebank Adam Brocklebank (born 6 September 1995) is an English rugby union player for Newcastle Falcons in Premiership Rugby. His preferred position is as a Prop. Club career Brocklebank was a late-comer to rugby, first showing interest into the sp ...

as Leicester beat Newcastle 27-5.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dolly, Nic 1999 births Living people Australian rugby union players Australian expatriate rugby union players in England England international rugby union players Sale Sharks players Coventry R.F.C. players Jersey Reds players Leicester Tigers players Rugby union hookers Australian people of English descent English rugby union players Rugby union players from Sydney