Simon Dalton Shaw MBE (born 1 September 1973) is a former English

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who played as a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

. He played for

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, London Wasps and

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

. He won 71 caps for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

between 1996 and 2011, and 2 for the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

, with whom he toured 3 times.

Early life

Shaw was born 1 September 1973 in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya. He was educated at Runnymede College in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and at Godalming College in Surrey. He played for

at 17, despite not taking up the game seriously until he was 16, after his family had moved to England from Spain. He also played for Cranleigh Rugby Club in his younger years. Shaw has represented England at various levels including students and Under-21s. At , he is one of the tallest men to have played for

Club career

Shaw played for

at the age of 17. He joined London Wasps in 1997. Wasps won the Tetley's Bitter Cup in 1999 and retained it the following season with a victory over the

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union. It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...

. Playing against

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in August 2000, Shaw became the only lock in the Premiership to have scored a

drop goal A drop goal, field goal, or dropped goal is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also, rarely, in American football and Canadian football. A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball (dropping the ball and then kick ...

. In the 2002–03 Zurich Premiership Shaw won the Premiership for the first time, defeating

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

in the final. That season Shaw also won his first European silverware with victory against Bath in the 2002–03 Parker Pen Challenge Cup. The 2003–04 Zurich Premiership season saw Wasps retain their Premiership crown and win the

2003–04 Heineken Cup The 2003–04 Heineken Cup was the ninth season for which European teams competed for the Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised ...

, their first

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

title. The 2004–05 season saw Wasps win the Premiership for a third season in a row. The following season Wasps defeated 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 in European Professional Club Rugby c ...

to win the

Powergen Cup The RFU Knockout Cup was an English rugby union competition open to any member of the Rugby Football Union. First contested in 1971, it was the premier competition in English club rugby before the establishment of the English league structure in 1 ...

. Wasps defeated

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

in the final of the

2006–07 Heineken Cup The 2006–07 Heineken Cup was the 12th edition of the European Heineken Cup rugby union club tournament. The pool draw took place on 21 June at Twickenham. The pool stages started on 20 October and concluded in January, going for six rounds. Foll ...

to become European Champions for the second time. The following 2007–08 season saw Wasps defeat Leicester Tigers in a final again to regain the Premiership title. In May 2008, playing against Leeds Carnegie in the last match of the regular season, Shaw became the first player ever to play in 200 Premiership matches. In November 2011, Shaw decided to finish his career overseas and signed for French club,

RC Toulonnais Rugby Club Toulonnais (), also referred to as Rugby Club Toulon or simply Toulon, is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon and competing in the Top 14. Located on the French Riviera, in the Provence region, the club plays its h ...

International career

He won his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in 1996. The following year Shaw was picked for the successful

1997 British Lions tour to South Africa The 1997 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa was a series of matches played by the British & Irish Lions rugby union team in South Africa. This tour followed the Lions' 1993 tour to New Zealand and preceded their 2001 British & Iris ...

. A spate of injuries and Wasps' indifferent form in his first season at the club cost him his England place and although he regained his place in the England squad for the following summer's tour, he was forced to withdraw with a long-standing back injury. During the 2000 Six Nations Championship, he had to step in for the injured Martin Johnson. He earned his 20th cap during the

2003 Six Nations Championship The 2003 Six Nations Championship was the fourth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, and the 109th international championship overall. The annual tournament was won by England national rugby union team, England, who completed a Gra ...

, a tournament which saw England win the Grand Slam. Shaw played in all three

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

warm up matches. He was not named in the original 30-man squad but was flown out to Australia due to an injury to Danny Grewcock, earning him an MBE as part of the World Cup-winning team. He keeps this in a drawer as he feels he didn't "win" it as he never played in a test. Shaw was called up to the squad for the

2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand In 2005, the British & Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing seven matches against first and second division teams from the National Provincial Championship, one match against the New Zealand Mao ...

after Irish lock

Malcolm O'Kelly Malcolm O'Kelly (born 19 July 1974) is an Irish former rugby union player who played as a Lock (rugby union), lock for Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland and Leinster Rugby, Leinster. O'Kelly was born in Chelmsford, England, and attended ...

aggravated a groin injury in training. Shaw was selected as a member of the England 2007 World Cup squad. He played the full 80 minutes in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. Shaw was selected by the

for their 2009 tour of South Africa, his third Lions tour. He was the oldest person to be selected and to play for the Lions. He won his first Lions cap in the second test against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Loftus Versfeld Loftus Versfeld Stadium is a Rugby union, rugby stadium situated in the suburb of Arcadia, Pretoria, Arcadia, city of Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa, owned by the Blue Bulls Rugby Union. The stadium can accommodate 51,762 spe ...

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

and he was named man of the match. During the third test in Johannesburg he was yellow-carded for foul play when he knee-dropped Fourie du Preez. In 2004 he was red-carded for a similar offence against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. In August 2011 he was selected as part of England's squad for the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

. In 2011, Simon Shaw became a director of a rugby hospitality company, Set Piece Events.

References

External links

* * * *
Simon Shaw photo by sportingheroes.net

Simon Shaw's Rugby Hospitality company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Simon 1973 births Living people English rugby union players England international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Bristol Bears players Kenyan emigrants to the United Kingdom Kenyan people of English descent Wasps RFC players Barbarian F.C. players Rugby union locks Alumni of the University of the West of England, Bristol Members of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople from Nairobi RC Toulon players White Kenyan people Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in France 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players 2011 Rugby World Cup players English expatriate rugby union players in France