William John E. Hooley (born 28 November 1993) is a former

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 who played fly-half for the San Diego Legion in

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR) and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Hooley previously played for the Northampton Saints, Birmingham Moseley on loan, Exeter Chiefs,

Bedford Blues Bedford Blues are a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The Blues are a semi-pro ...

and Saracens Rugby Club. Hooley also previously represented England at the international level with two age-grade sides, winning the

2013 IRB Junior World Championship The 2013 IRB Junior World Championship was the sixth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in France by rugby's governing body, the IRB. A total of twelve nations played in the tournament ...

Early life

Will Hooley was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, and grew up playing for Cambridge Rugby Club mini and youth level teams. Hooley attended St John's College School and The Leys School, and began playing at the academy level with the Northampton Saints.

Club career

Hooley played for Bedford Blues having signed for them from Exeter Chiefs for the 2017-18 season. In March 2018, it was announced that Hooley had signed a one-year contract extension with the Blues, through the 2018–19 season. Hooley joined the Exeter Chiefs from fellow Premiership team Northampton Saints in 2015, making his debut against

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 ...

in the

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

. He signed for

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

ahead of the 2020–21 season.

International career

England under-18 and under-20 teams

Hooley first represented England at the international level playing for the

England national under-18 rugby union team The England national under-18 rugby union team is the under-18 team of the England national rugby union team in the sport of rugby union. History Under-18 became a recognised age-grade in European rugby in 2004. In June 2018, coach John Fletcher ...

. In 2013, he represented

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 ...

in the World Rugby Under 20 Championship and was part of the winning team in the

USA Eagles

In 2018, Hooley was named to the

United States national rugby union team The United States men's national rugby union team represents the United States in men's international rugby union. Nicknamed the Eagles, it is controlled by USA Rugby, the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United Stat ...

, with whom he qualifies through his American grandmother, for the

2018 Americas Rugby Championship The 2018 Americas Rugby Championship was the third series of the Americas Rugby Championship (sometimes informally called the "Americas' Six Nations", a reference to Europe's Six Nations Championship), which is the top elite tournament for the Am ...

. Hooley made his debut for the Eagles on 3 February 2018, appearing as a substitute, in an uncapped 17–10 victory over

Argentina XV Argentina XV, formerly known as the Jaguares, are the second national rugby union team in Argentina, after the full national side, the Pumas. Overview They already represented Argentina at the South American Rugby Championship, in 2001, 2002, ...

. Hooley earned his first cap for the Eagles on 10 February 2018, again appearing as a substitute, in a 29–10 victory over

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooley, Will 1993 births Living people Rugby union players from Cambridge Moseley Rugby Football Club players Northampton Saints players Exeter Chiefs players Bedford Blues players English rugby union players United States international rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves American rugby union players Saracens F.C. players San Diego Legion players Rugby union fullbacks