Michael Le Bourgeois (born 29 July 1990) is a

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

man 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 who plays for Championship side, Bedford Blues as a

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 ...

and can also play as a fullback or as a

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

Career

Le Bourgeois broke into rugby through Jersey's academy, making his debut in 2008 when Jersey were promoted to

London 1 Regional 1 South East (up until 2022-23 known as London & South East Premier and up until 2016-17 known as National League 3 London & South East) is a level five league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level. ...

from

London 2 South {{Use British English, date=May 2015 London 2 South is an English league of Rugby Union teams, representing the second level in the Rugby Football Union's London & South East Division, making it a Level 6 league in the RFU's league hierarchy. The ...

. In June 2011, Le Bourgeois became the first Jersey academy graduate and the first

born player to sign a professional contract with Jersey. He was the top point scorer for Jersey in

National League 1 National One (last season known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Leagu ...

for the 2011-2012 season as Jersey were promoted to the Championship. In addition, Le Bourgeois was also listed as one of the top ten kickers in National League 1 along with fellow Jersey player, Ross Broadfoot. Later in 2012, he scored Jersey's first Championship

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

at Headingley Stadium against

Leeds Carnegie Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University. These include: Current * Leeds Carnegie Handball Club Changed name * Leeds Carnegie ...

. In April 2013, Le Bourgeois left Jersey to move to Bedford Blues. His time at Jersey was the most successful period in the club's history, scoring 891 points in league and

British & Irish Cup The British and Irish Cup was an annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs and the reserves or developing teams from professional clubs from Great Britain and Ireland. It took place for the first time in the 2009 ...

matches and seeing the club rise from tier 5 all the way to the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. Le Bourgeois has also previously been selected to represent the

Hampshire Rugby Football Union Hampshire Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in the county of Hampshire, England. It represent clubs sides not just from Hampshire but also from the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands, who take part in many of the comp ...

in the

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

. When Jersey were promoted from level five of the

English rugby union system Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system. Women's Rugby union in England cons ...

, Le Bourgeois became ineligible to represent Hampshire. In 2018, Le Bourgeois signed for Premiership club Wasps, and in December 2019 it was announced he had re-signed on a new contract following good performances in the number 12 shirt for Wasps since signing.

Personal life

In Jersey, Le Bourgeois is viewed as a role model. In August 2011, Le Bourgeois was arrested for drink-driving, theft of a vehicle, driving without insurance and driving without a valid driving licence. He was banned from driving for 23 months and fined £1,600. He was also banned by Jersey for one match which meant he did not play for Jersey against Birmingham & Solihull R.F.C. Afterwards, he apologised for his actions.

Honours

Jersey *

Siam Cup The Siam Cup is an annual rugby union competition held between the Channel Islands clubs of Jersey Reds and Guernsey. It was first contested in 1920. The trophy is the second oldest rugby trophy in the world to be contested after the Calcutta ...

winners (3 times): 2009, 2011, 2013 *National 3 Champions Cup winners: 2009-10 *

National League 3 London & SE Regional 1 South East (up until 2022-23 known as London & South East Premier and up until 2016-17 known as National League 3 London & South East) is a level five league in the English rugby union system. It is one of six leagues at this level. ...

champions: 2009-10MatchByDivision
. Clubs.rfu.com. * National League 2 (north v south) promotion playoff winners:

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

champions: 2011–12

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Bourgeois, Michael 1990 births Living people Rugby union fullbacks Jersey rugby union players Jersey Reds players Bedford Blues players