Joe Ansbro
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Joe Ansbro (Born
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, 29 October 1985) is a former Scottish international professional
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. He is the first player of African origin to represent Scotland at test level in history.Late Scotland call-up for Joe Ansbro
/ref> His favoured position is
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 ...
. He most recently played for
London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...
. After gaining 11 full international caps his rugby career ended due to serious neck injury at the age of 26.


Early years

Ansbro was born in Glasgow and raised near
Gatehouse of Fleet Gatehouse of Fleet ( sco, Gatehoose o Fleet gd, Taigh an Rathaid) is a town half in the civil parish of Girthon and half in the parish of Anwoth divided by the river Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire, within the district council region of Dumfries and ...
in
Dumfries & Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...
, South West Scotland. He was educated at Gatehouse Primary School and played youth rugby with Stewartry, the
Castle Douglas Castle Douglas ( gd, Caisteal Dhùghlais) is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies in the lieutenancy area of Kirkcudbrightshire, in the eastern part of Galloway, between the towns of Dalbeattie and Gatehouse of Fleet. It is in th ...
club. He was also educated at Stonyhurst College near
Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...
in
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
, North West England, before embarking on study of a Natural Sciences degree at
Robinson College, Cambridge Robinson College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1977, it is one of the newest Oxbridge colleges and is unique in having been intended, from its inception, for both undergraduate and graduate students of bo ...
."Joe Ansbro" on the Scotland Rugby Team website
/ref>


Northampton

Ansbro joined the Northampton Academy in 2006, during this time he was part of the
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
side that took part in
The Varsity Match The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. The event began in 1872 with the first men's match, with interruptions only for the two World Wars. Since 1921, the game has ...
, producing some quality displays for the
University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
.
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", ...
took notice of this and he became a regular in the number 13 shirt during their season in
National Division One The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...
, he also scored in the
EDF Energy Trophy The EDF National Trophy was a cup competition which ran from 2006 to 2009 for the 118 clubs of the Rugby Football Union from National Division One and below. Previously these teams had played in the Powergen Cup, but were excluded from that cup u ...
final.


London Irish

Ansbro joined
London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...
in 2011 on a three-year deal. The Scotland centre was one of numerous international players to join the club in 2011. London Irish head coach Toby Booth said: "He's quick, powerful with a great future ahead and will fit in nicely." Ansbro commented that "there are some great players who have committed their long term futures to the club and that speaks volumes for what is happening there."


Scotland

Ansbro made his international debut for Scotland A during the 2009
IRB Nations Cup The Nations Cup is a rugby union competition that was first held in 2006 at Estádio Universitário in Lisbon with Argentina A, Italy A, Portugal and Russia taking part. The tournament is part of the International Rugby Board's US $50 million St ...
tournament in Romania. Scotland A eventually went on to win the tournament, with Ansbro making his debut as outside centre in the win against Uruguay. He made his first senior Scotland appearance in the 21–17 victory over reigning world champions
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
in doing so he became the first black player to represent Scotland at test level. A week later he played in the 19–16 win against Samoa at
Pittodrie Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they wer ...
in Aberdeen. Ansbro made his 6 nations appearance in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
's opening match of 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 ...
against France in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. Ansbro and the rest of the
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
team put in an impressive performance against a clinical French side despite eventually losing the match 34–21. His first points for
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
came in the 10–6 victory in a 2011 Rugby World Cup warm-up game against
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 ...
where he scored the winning try in the 76th minute. Ansbro was included in Scotland's 30 man squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. He went on to score his first RWC try against
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
in Scotland's first group game of the 2011 tournament. The number 13 jersey in the next two games was taken by
Nick de Luca Nick De Luca (born 1 February 1984 in Dumfries, south west Scotland) is a retired, former Scottish international professional rugby union player. Early years De Luca was born in Dumfries and grew up in Lockerbie. Club rugby De Luca's positio ...
before Ansbro was again selected, this time in Scotland's final group game versus England.


Injury

Ansbro broke his neck in a pre-season friendly against Munster on 24 August 2012. After being taken to hospital straight after the match it was discovered that Ansbro had a triple fracture of the C1 vertebrae. As of 15 May 2013 Ansbro officially retired from rugby union.


Teaching

Ansbro, having graduated from
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
before his professional career became a Biology teacher and rugby coach at Harrow School, a leading boys' independent school.


See also

*
James Robertson (rugby union, born 1854) James George Robertson (c.1854 – February 1900) was a Scottish rugby union player. He is the first black rugby union player in the world. The Scottish sports historian Andy Mitchell, who researched Robertson's life, stated: "It is intriguing ...
- the first known black
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. He played for
Royal HSFP Royal High School Former Pupils was a former Edinburgh rugby union club; but the club was re-formed as Barnton RFC and is now known as Royal High RFC. Royal HSFP was a founder member of the Scottish Rugby Union, the second oldest national gove ...
and Edinburgh District in the early 1870s. *
Alfred Clunies-Ross Alfred Clunies-Ross (c.1851 – 28 February 1903) was a rugby union international who represented Scotland in the first international rugby match in 1871. Clunies-Ross, a Cocos Malay from a Scots family, was the first non-white rugby union in ...
- the first non-white
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 ...
international player. He was capped by
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
in the very first international match in 1871. Clunies-Ross was half-Malayan; a
Cocos Malay Cocos Malay is a post-creolized variety of Malay, spoken by the Cocos Malays of Home Island, Christmas Island, and those originally from the Cocos Islands currently living in Sabah. Cocos Malay derives from the Malay trade languages of the 19 ...
. The
Clunies-Ross family The Clunies-Ross family were the original settlers of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, a small archipelago in the Indian Ocean. From 1827 to 1978, the family ruled the previously uninhabited islands as a private fiefdom, initially as ''terra nullius'' ...
were Scots from the
Cocos (Keeling) Islands ) , anthem = "''Advance Australia Fair''" , song_type = , song = , image_map = Australia on the globe (Cocos (Keeling) Islands special) (Southeast Asia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands , map_caption = ...
; a previously uninhabited set of islands which they colonised along with Malayan workers. *
Andrew Watson (footballer, born 1856) Andrew Watson (24 May 1856 – 8 March 1921) was a Scottish footballer who is widely considered to be the first black person to play association football at international level. He played three matches for Scotland between 1881 and 1882. Arthur ...
- the first black person to play association football. Watson played for Maxwell,
Parkgrove Parkgrove is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Approximately 4 miles north-west of Edinburgh city centre. The suburb is located between the neighbouring areas of Clermiston, Barnton and Davidson's Mains Davidson's Mains is a ...
, and Queens Park before being capped for
Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the thr ...
.


References


External links


Scotland Rugby Team ProfileNorthampton ProfileThe Rugby Blog profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansbro, Joe 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Dumfries and Galloway Northampton Saints players London Irish players People educated at Stonyhurst College Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Alumni of Robinson College, Cambridge Anglo-Scots Black British sportsmen Rugby union players from Glasgow People educated at Gatehouse School Scotland 'A' international rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players Stewartry RFC players Teachers at Harrow School Rugby union centres