Ollie Phillips (rugby union)
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Ollie Phillips (born in
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
) is a former
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
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 its m ...
player. Phillips combined successful careers in both the 15-a-side game and also the Olympic version of the game, Rugby Sevens. Phillips captained
England Sevens The England national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games. England's best finish in the Sevens Series is second place, which they have achieved four times, most recently i ...
and was named '7s World Rugby Player of the Year' in 2009 while also pursuing a professional career in 15s with four clubs in England and France, where he was voted 'Overseas Player of the Year' in 2011. Since retiring from rugby, Phillips has volunteered as a charity ambassador. He currently works as a Director at PWC in London and in 2018 set up 'Optimist Performance', through which he works with companies and individuals by speaking and consulting in the core areas of: Teamwork, Leadership, Resilience and Change. Philipps was born in
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, and studied at
Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...
, where he was a member of
Van Mildert College Van Mildert College (known colloquially as Mildert) is a college of Durham University in England. Founded in 1965, it takes its name from William Van Mildert, Prince-Bishop of Durham from 1826 to 1836 and a leading figure in the University's 1832 ...
, graduating in 2004. He later studied for an MBA at Cambridge, where he won a blue in the Varsity Match.


Rugby

He is the most successful England Rugby Sevens captain leading his team to three
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
Cup victories - including in New Zealand - and six finals. In 2009, he was voted World Rugby Seven’s player of the year. Away from the international stage he plied his trade as a 15-a-side professional at wing and full-back for four clubs: Harlequins,
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 ...
,
Stade Français Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...
and
Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby, as well as in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The club was formed i ...
. In all, he played in three Heineken Cups, a European Cup Final, and was voted Best Overseas Player in France in 2011.


Charity Adventures

Phillips has sailed around the world, cycled across America, run marathons in Africa, etc. for Street Child, Alzheimers Society, Wooden Spoon and Cancer Research UK. He is also an ambassador for the government-driven GREAT campaign working with the Clipper Round the World Race. Clipper Round the World Race - Phillips took part in September 2013. After 11 months and 40,000 miles, the team finished second overall. Arctic Guinness World Record - Phillips headed to the North Pole for the ‘Arctic Rugby Challenge’, joining a 100-mile trek to the Magnetic North Pole where he hosted the ‘Most Northerly Rugby Match’, breaking the
Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
. Cycle race across America (RAAM) - 3000 miles across America, from California to Maryland. Mount Kilimanjaro - In October 2018 Ollie led a team with 360-expeditions to Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa at 5,895 metres.


PWC Director

Ollie is Director for Real Estate & Construction at
PWC PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...
, having earlier headed up innovation at the company in partnership with Google.


Optimist Performance, founded 2018

Ollie founded OptimistPerformance.com to provide a platform to deliver his positive messages and his experience as an advisor, coach and motivational speaker. Ollie delivers leadership, teamwork and culture workshops for a wide variety of global clients including Google, Accenture, Tesco, Schlumberger, Gatorade, UBS Wealth management, AJG, Clear Channel, Casewise, TBWA and Dark Horses. He is also the co-host of a UK based podcast called ''The Growth Show''


Rugby Awards

* IRB International Sevens Player of the Year 2009 *Voted French Overseas Player of the Year, 2011


References


External links

*'
Optimist Performance website
''
England Sevens Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Ollie 1983 births Living people English rugby union players Rugby union wings Rugby union fullbacks Expatriate rugby union players in France World Rugby Awards winners English expatriate rugby union players English expatriate sportspeople in France Alumni of Van Mildert College, Durham Durham University RFC players Rugby union players from Brighton