Nicholas David Beal (born 2 December 1970 in
Howden, East Riding of Yorkshire
Howden () is a market and minster town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of York to the north of the M62, on the A614 road about south-east of York and north of Goole, which lies across the Ri ...
) is a
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 who played at
Fullback for
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...
,
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 ...
and the
Lions
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...
.
Career
Club
Beal spent his whole professional career at
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...
, and captained the squad that won the
Middlesex Sevens The Middlesex Sevens was a Rugby Sevens tournament held annually at Twickenham stadium in London, England until 2011. It was first held in 1926, and started by Dr J.A. Russell-Cargill, a London-based Scot.Bath, ''Scotland Rugby Miscellany'', p82 Th ...
trophy in 2003. He missed out on their victory in the
2000 Heineken Cup Final due to injury. He retired in 2004.
International
Beal was a part of 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 ...
team that won the
World Sevens
The SVNS, known as the HSBC SVNS for Naming rights, sponsorship reasons, is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as ...
title in 1993. He also joined the
1997 British Lions tour to South Africa.
Personal life
Beal is married with two sons.
He attended
Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe
, established =
, closed =
, type = Selective Grammar SchoolAcademy
, head_label = Headmaster
, head = Philip Wayne
, r_head_label =
, r_head =
, chair_label =
, chair =
, founder ...
where he was schoolmates with
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
and
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 ...
teammate
Matt Dawson
Matthew James Sutherland Dawson, MBE (born 31 October 1972) is an English retired rugby union player who played scrum half for Northampton Saints and then London Wasps. During his international career he toured with the British & Irish Lion ...
.
After retiring he worked as a financial advisor.
In 2007 he was appointed a non-executive director of the Saints' board.
References
External links
Scrum.com player statisticsSporting heroes profile
1970 births
Living people
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England
England international rugby sevens players
England international rugby union players
English rugby union players
Male rugby sevens players
Northampton Saints players
People educated at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe
People from Howden
Rugby union fullbacks
Rugby union players from Yorkshire
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