Simon Marcus Taylor (born 17 August 1979) is a Scottish retired 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 ...

footballer who played for

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in the c ...

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

Edinburgh Rugby Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh play ...

. He played as a back-row forward, usually a number eight. He played for

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

for six seasons between 2000 and 2006 and in 2007 agreed a three-year deal with

joining them immediately after the 2007 World Cup. In the summer of 2010, Taylor signed for Bath Rugby in the English Aviva Premiership. He also represented

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

. At the start of his rugby career, he played for Heriot's Former Pupils.

Career

Early career

Born in

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, Taylor represented Scottish Schools in 1995–96 while he was at

Morrison's Academy Morrison's Academy is a co-educational independent day school in Crieff, Perth and Kinross, in Central Scotland. The school provides nursery, primary and secondary school facilities. It draws many pupils from surrounding Perth and Kinross ...

, and he went on to play for Scotland’s under-18, under-19, and under-21 teams. He had two seasons in the under-19 team, leading the Scots in the Junior World Championship in France in 1998. After five matches for the national under-21 side in 1998–1999 he went on to play in ten more under-21 internationals in 1999–2000, including the victory over the New Zealand Youth at

Jedburgh Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in su ...

in December and the draw with Australia during the 2000 Southern Hemisphere Alliance tournament in New Zealand. In that latter match Taylor scored a try. In 1999–2000 he played a pivotal role in Heriot's FP’s second successive club championship and was rewarded with a professional contract with

Edinburgh Reivers Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh play ...

at the beginning of season 2000–2001.

2000–2003

Taylor made his first appearance for

in the November 2000 Autumn Test against the

USA 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 territori ...

. In summer 2001 he made a try-scoring debut for the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

in their 116–10 victory over Western Australia before a knee injury unfortunately ended his tour and he returned to Scotland to pass the final exams of his law degree at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He scored his first test try in the match against

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 ...

on the 2002 tour in which he started at openside flanker and then made some pile-driving contributions when he was fielded at No 8 against the USA. He scored his first try in a

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often conside ...

Test match in Scotland’s 30–22 March 2003 win against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He was named Lloyds TSB

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

for his display against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in the 29–12 Scotland victory in February 2002. On 26 May 2002, Taylor was selected to play for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

against

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 ...

. He scored twice, but England won 53 to 29. At the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

, Taylor was a member of the Scottish Sevens squad who won the Men's Bowl Competition Quarter Finals. Taylor was named

The Famous Grouse The Famous Grouse is a brand of blended Scotch whisky, first produced by Matthew Gloag & Son in 1896, and currently produced and owned by The Edrington Group. The single malt whiskies used in The Famous Grouse blend include the Edrington-owned ...

Scotland Player of the Season for 2002–2003, fitting reward for performances encapsulated by his heroic defensive contribution to the game against England when he made 23 tackles. In the 2003 World Cup he started in every match.

2004

Taylor suffered a serious knee injury in the final game of the Six Nations in Ireland in 2004.

2005

Taylor was out for the best part of a year with a knee ligament injury and was unable to do any aerobic activity. He used the time to do some serious weight work and there is a general consensus that he is now about a stone and a half more than his official 17 stones. He returned for the Scotland v Italy Six Nations fixture and lasted the pace well enough for most of the game. He looked more like his old self in the following game vs. Wales on 13 March 2005. After the tournament, he became one of only three Scots named to the Lions for their 2005 tour to New Zealand. In New Zealand he injured a hamstring and did not play a match.

2007

Agreed a three-year deal with

. Despite residing in France, Taylor, with business partner Barrie Brown, managed a successful foray into the licensed trade wit
99 Hanover Street
a style bar in Edinburgh's city centre.

2008

With Taylor continuing his career in France the duo's new venture
Hawke and Hunter
opened in November 2008. Taylor and Brown trade as Brown Taylor Limited and Hawke & Hunter trades from the former Hallion Club on Edinburgh's Picardy Place.

2010

Having reportedly been unhappy with the number of players that play his position at Stade Français, Taylor signed a three-year deal with

. On 19 April 2013 Bath Rugby announced that Taylor was to be one of 7 players leaving the club at the end of the 2012/13 season. At that point, Taylor retired from Rugby and entered the hotel industry.

References

External links

Scotland profileBath Rugby website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Simon 1979 births Living people Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from Stirling Scottish rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland Barbarian F.C. players Edinburgh Rugby players Heriot's RC players Bath Rugby players Alumni of the University of Edinburgh School of Law People educated at Morrison's Academy Scotland international rugby sevens players Male rugby sevens players