Simon Webster is a former rugby union player that played for

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

on the wing and centre. He was quick and creative player known for his pace and committed approach to the game. Starting on the wing in later years he was noticed to have bulked up considerably and moved into the centre playing in the number 13 jersey.

Club career

Webster attended

Yarm School Yarm School is a co-educational independent day school in Yarm, North Yorkshire in the North East of England. The school accepts pupils aged 3–18 years old and has a Nursery Pre-Prep, Preparatory School, Senior School and Sixth Form. The Sch ...

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimated ...

where he captained the schools first XV side. Webster turned professional in 2000 and went on to make his debut 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", ...

against

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

. In 2001 he was in the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

team who won the

Melrose Sevens Melrose Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Melrose Rugby Club, at The Greenyards in Melrose, Scotland. It is the oldest rugby sevens competition in the world, dating back to 1883 when the tournament was suggested by former Melrose ...

, and the following year he signed for

Edinburgh Rugby Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh play ...

. Webster held a long career at Edinburgh playing at the club for nearly 10 years, taking part in over 100 games for the club, under various coaches including national coaches

Frank Hadden Frank Hadden (born 14 June 1954) is a Scottish rugby union coach. He is a former head coach of Scotland and Edinburgh Rugby. Hadden replaced Matt Williams and was appointed on 15 September 2005. Hadden coached the Merchiston Castle School 1st ...

and

Andy Robinson Richard Andrew Robinson OBE (born 3 April 1964) is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He was the director of rugby at Bristol until November 2016. He is the former head coach of Scotland and England. From September 2019 to Decemb ...

. His last few years were plagued by injury, especially the last two seasons with an Achilles problem. Webster returned to full fitness in September but has been unable to dislodge prolific

Tim Visser Tim Visser ( born 29 May 1987) is a Dutch rugby union player, who played as a winger for the Scotland national team and for English club Harlequins. Early life Visser was born in De Bilt, Netherlands. He was brought up in Maartensdijk and pla ...

and Scotland international Lee Jones. In March 2012 he left the club by mutual consent in search of more regular playing time.

International career

Webster qualified for

through his grandparents, who hail from

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

. In addition to playing for Scotland he has played for Scotland A, and the Scotland under-19 and under-21 squads. Simon Webster made his Scotland debut against Ireland in a World Cup warm-up match in 2003, and although he didn't make into the squad for the tournament he became a regular during the 2004 Six Nations. A versatile back, Webster has played both on the wing and in the centre for Scotland during his career. He finally made an impact on the World Cup in 2007, becoming the only Scotland player to start all five of their tournament matches as they were knocked out at the quarter final stages. Webster crossed for a try against Ireland in the second game of the 2008 Six Nations, reverting to the centre after beginning the tournament against France on the wing. He then played in both games of Scotland's two-Test series in Argentina, including their victory in Buenos Aires. He only made a single appearance during the 2008 autumn internationals, against Canada at Pittodrie, but in January 2009 he was included in Frank Hadden's squad for the Six Nations.

Other information

Webster also sells rugby gear, including the orange gloves that a large number of the Scottish backs wear.

References

External links

Scotland profile
1981 births Living people Scottish rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players Northampton Saints players Barbarian F.C. players Edinburgh Rugby players Rugby union players from Hartlepool People educated at Yarm School Rugby union centres {{Scotland-rugbyunion-bio-stub