Rob Higgitt (born 12 August 1981) is a Welsh 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 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 eccentricity ...

. Born in

St Asaph St Asaph (; cy, Llanelwy "church on the Elwy") is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and community (Wales), community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. In the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census it had a population of 3,355 ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

, Higgitt began his rugby career with

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; cy, Rhuthun) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. It is Denbighshire's county town. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and ...

, for whom his father was the chairman. He played for Ruthin from the age of 6 until he was 18, when he enrolled at the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

. While playing rugby for the university's team, Higgitt was spotted by

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, who signed him up and played him in their Under-21 side. In 2002, he went on a season-long loan to

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley. It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies wit ...

in the

Welsh Premier Division The Welsh Premier Division, () known for sponsorship reasons as the Indigo Group Premiership, (''Uwch Gynghrair grŵp indigo'') is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) for the 1990–91 season. Compe ...

. Upon his return to Bristol, they were unable to put him on a professional contract immediately, but when he made the first team in November 2003, the club put him on a £6,000 contract. In five years in the Bristol first team, Higgitt amassed a total of 111 appearances, scoring 20 tries, and became an integral component of the team's defensive line. At the end of the 2007–08 season, he signed for the

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

, one of four Welsh regional sides playing in the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

. He scored the final try scored at Llanelli's famous

Stradey Park Stradey Park (Welsh: ''Parc y Strade'') was a rugby union stadium located near the centre of the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was the home of the Scarlets region and Llanelli RFC rugby teams. The stadium was a combination of s ...

ground, during the Scarlets' 27–0 victory over Higgitt's former club, Bristol on 24 October 2008. After a frustrating period of injury he was released by the Scarlets in May 2010. Higgitt joined

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in Administration (law), administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top ...

in June on a one-year contract. Higgitt's contract was not renewed for the 2011–12 season. For the 2011–12 season, Higgitt was player-coach at South West 1 West club Thornbury RFC working alongside former Wales captain

Gareth Llewellyn Gareth Owen Llewellyn (born 27 February 1969), is a Welsh former rugby union player who gained a record 92 caps for Wales as a lock. His record for Wales caps was surpassed by Gareth Thomas in May 2007. His brother, Glyn Llewellyn, also played i ...

References

External links

Scarlets profile
Archived fro
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on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2023. {{DEFAULTSORT:Higgitt, Rob 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from St Asaph Rugby union players from Denbighshire Welsh rugby union players Bristol Bears players Scarlets players Alumni of the University of Bath Rugby union centres