Nick Abendanon (born 27 August 1986 in

Bryanston, South Africa Bryanston, Gauteng is an affluent residential suburb of Sandton, South Africa north of Johannesburg . First named as an area in 1949, it was established in 1969 as a suburb of Sandton and provided with tarred roads and municipal service but after ...

) is a former England 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 its m ...

player. His preferred position was full-back. He has Dutch nationality through his parents. Abendanon burst onto the scene during the 2006–07 season, scoring 10 tries in 24 first-team appearances for Bath. A strong tackler, balanced runner and dangerous counter-attacker, he firmly established himself as Bath's first-choice full-back in the post- Matt Perry era. His form that season earned him a first

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 ...

cap in South Africa – the country of his birth – in June 2007. He was capped again against

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 ...

in August 2007, but narrowly missed out on a place in England's 30-man squad for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. However, he did eventually travel to France as cover for the final after an injury to

Josh Lewsey Owen Joshua Lewsey MBE (born 30 November 1976) is an English former rugby union player who represented England and the British and Irish Lions. Lewsey is a former British Army Officer. Background and early life Lewsey was born in Bromley, L ...

. Some fine performances during the 2008–09 season were rewarded with a call-up for 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 ...

squad for the 2009 Churchill Cup in the United States. Retaining his place in the squad, Abendanon was part of the England Saxons victory of the 2010 Churchill Cup and his impressive performances resulted in him being named Player of the Tournament. Entering the 2010–11 season Abendanon continued his good form. Although he lost his place for a month to

Jack Cuthbert Jack Cuthbert (born 3 September 1987 in Bristol, England) is a Scottish rugby union player for Jersey Reds in the RFU Championship. He plays as a winger/fullback or outside centre, although most of his senior appearances have come in the numbe ...

due to a niggling injury which limited him to impact appearances of the bench, Abendanon was promoted to the England Elite squad as replacement for the banned

Delon Armitage Delon Anthony Armitage (born 15 December 1983) is a rugby union coach and former player who played at wing or fullback for Lyon OU and is capped for England. He also occasionally played centre. Armitage started out at London Irish and Toulon. H ...

. This promotion put him in contention to feature during the

2011 Six Nations The 2011 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2011 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 12th series of the Six Nations Championship, and the 117th edition of the international championship. The annual rugby un ...

which some pundits believed he deserved for his improvement over the previous year. After eight years with Bath, on 3 February 2014, Abendanon signed for French giants

Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French ...

, playing in the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

from the 2014-15 season. On 12 June 2020, Abendanon joined

Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...

outfit

Vannes Vannes (; br, Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic Era The name ''Vannes'' comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who lived ...

on a two-year deal from the 2020-21 season. Abendanon confirmed his retirement from international rugby on 28 October 2021 via

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

References

External links

Bath profileEngland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abendanon, Nick Living people 1986 births England international rugby union players English rugby union players Dutch expatriate rugby union players Bath Rugby players ASM Clermont Auvergne players South African people of Dutch descent Rugby union fullbacks People educated at Cheltenham College People educated at Beaudesert Park School Sportspeople from Gloucestershire