Warren Spragg (born 1 November 1982 in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
) is an English-born Italian
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 ...
international. He is a versatile back and goalkicker.
Education
Warren Spragg was educated at
Audenshaw School
Audenshaw School is an all-boys secondary school in Audenshaw, Greater Manchester, England. Previously, the school was known as Audenshaw Grammar School. It opened to boys in 1932.
History
On 29 July 1932, Audenshaw Grammar School for Boys was ...
, he then went on to
Kirkham Grammar School
Kirkham Grammar School is a selective, co-educational independent school in Kirkham, Lancashire, England. It was founded in 1549. Its roots can be traced back to the chantry school attached to St Michael's Church in the 13th century. The sc ...
. He played for the school
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 ...
first XV in 1999/00 and 2000/01 when the school side went unbeaten.
Clubs
He started his career at
Aldwinians RUFC before moving to
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 ...
where he made his
Guinness Premiership
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
debut. He also helped Sale Sharks win 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 Caldy 7s tournaments in 2003.
He then moved to
Wakefield RFC
Wakefield RFC was an English rugby union club, founded in 1901 and folded in 2004 as a result of poor finances, with a trading loss of £105,000 for the season and unsecured creditors' loans of approximately £640,000. The club's final season w ...
where he won the 2003/04 Eva Orbell Trophy for best newcomer. On Wakefield's demise he moved to
Orrell R.U.F.C.
Orrell Rugby Union Football Club is a rugby union club from Orrell in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester.
The club was founded in 1927, holding a place in the top-tier of rugby union from 1986 to 1997.
History
Orrell Rugb ...
He then played for
Petrarca Padova Rugby
Petrarca Rugby is a rugby union club from Padua, Italy, currently competing in the top tier of the Italian rugby union, the Top10.
Founded in 1947, the team is the rugby union branch of the Unione Sportiva Petrarca, an omnisport club that inclu ...
in the
Top12
The Top10, known as the Peroni Top10 for sponsorship reasons, and formerly Top 12, is Italy's top level professional men's rugby union competition. The Top 10 is run by Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR) and is contested by 10 teams as of the 2019â ...
.
After moving to Fylde RFC to play he is now the head coach of the team playing in RFU National 2 North
Representative honours
While at
Kirkham Grammar School
Kirkham Grammar School is a selective, co-educational independent school in Kirkham, Lancashire, England. It was founded in 1549. Its roots can be traced back to the chantry school attached to St Michael's Church in the 13th century. The sc ...
, Warren was a member of the England Schools 18 group team that toured
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
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
in 2001. He scored a try in the England victory over the
Australia Schoolboys.
Rugby.Com.Au , England Schoolboys Defeat Australians
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He then represented the England under 21s in the 2002-03 U21 Six Nations Championship.
In the summer of 2004, he was a member of the England Counties XV
England Counties XV is a representative rugby union team, formed in 2002, open to English players who play in the County Championship and the third tier (and below) of the English rugby union system. Players from the Premiership and RFU Champi ...
squad that toured Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
In November 2006, he made his debut for Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
for whom he qualifies through an Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
grandmother. He has also represented Italy in the IRB Sevens World Series
The World Rugby Men's Sevens Series 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 the IRB World Sevens Series, the com ...
in 2007.
He also played for Lancashire Senior Team when they won the BIll Beaumont County Championship.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spragg, Warren
1982 births
Living people
British emigrants to Italy
English people of Italian descent
English rugby union players
Italian people of English descent
Italian rugby union players
Italy international rugby union players
Lancashire County RFU players
People educated at Kirkham Grammar School
Petrarca Rugby players
Rugby Calvisano players
Rugby union players from Manchester
Sale Sharks players
Wakefield RFC players
Rugby union wings