Nevin Spence (26 April 199015 September 2012) was a Northern Ireland-born Irish

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 for

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

in the

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

. He played as a

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 eccentri ...

, but could also play

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 e ...

. He was educated firstly at Dromore High School, where he was introduced to rugby, and then at Wallace High School. He played his club rugby with Ballynahinch. He was also a capable

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, playing for the

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

U-16's.

Club career

Nevin rose to prominence at Ballynahinch during the hugely successful 2009/10 season. The club won the Ulster Senior League, Cup, AIL Division 2 and All-Ireland Cup all in a single season. Nevin was also a member of the

Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Ulster Branch, which is one of ...

Academy. Spence first tasted professional rugby against the Ospreys in April 2010. In the little more than two seasons that he played for Ulster he made 42 appearances, despite suffering a number of shoulder injuries, and scored five tries.

International career

He made 11 appearances for the

Ireland national under-20 rugby union team The Ireland national under-20 rugby team was formed in 2006, having previously been known as the under-21 team. They have won the Grand Slam three times and the Six Nations Championship four times: 2007, 2010, 2019 and 2022. Current squad Head c ...

, scoring four tries, and played twice at the

IRB Junior World Championship The World Rugby Under 20 Championship (known as the IRB Junior World Championship until 2014) is an international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, World Rugby, and is contested by 12 men's junior nat ...

s. After some strong performances for Ulster and two appearances for Ireland Wolfhounds, he was called up to Ireland's senior training squad for the

2011 Six Nations Championship 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 unio ...

. His talent was recognised by his fellow professionals in 2011 when he was named Young Player of the Year at the

IRUPA The Rugby Players Ireland is the representative body for professional rugby players in Ireland. Founded in October 2001, its aims are to promote and protect the welfare of professional rugby players in Ireland. The Chief Executive Officer is Si ...

Players' Awards. In May 2012 he played for

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 ...

against the Barbarians in a non-capped game played at Gloucester's

Kingsholm Stadium Kingsholm Stadium is a rugby union stadium located in the Kingsholm area of Gloucester, England, and is the home stadium of Gloucester Rugby. The stadium has a capacity of 16,115. It is sometimes nicknamed 'Castle Grim', after the estate where ...

Death

Spence died, along with his brother Graham and father Noel, in an accident at the family farm in

Hillsborough, County Down Royal Hillsborough (Irish: ''Cromghlinn'', meaning 'Crooked Glen' Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 81. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1999.), more commonly known simply as ...

on 15 September 2012, where they were overcome by fumes in a slurry tank. Spence's sister was treated in hospital and survived the accident. They were buried in Inch cemetery, following a joint funeral which was held at the Ballynahinch Baptist Church. As a mark of respect for Spence, a minute's silence was observed at many rugby games in Britain and Ireland the following week. A memorial service was held at

Ravenhill Stadium Ravenhill Stadium (known as the Kingspan Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby stadium located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home of Ulster Rugby. With the opening of a new stand for the 2014 Heineken Cup quarter-final against ...

, the home ground of Ulster Rugby, on Sunday 23 September 2012.Ravenhill memorial for Nevin Spence
u.tv. Retrieved 16 March 2015.

References

External links

Ulster ProfileIreland Wolfhounds Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, Nevin 1990 births 2012 deaths Accidental deaths in Northern Ireland Baptists from Northern Ireland Rugby union centres Rugby union wings People educated at Wallace High School, Lisburn People from County Down Ulster Rugby players 20th-century Baptists