Lee Mears
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| Personal information | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lee Mears | ||||||
| Date of birth | 5 March 1979 | ||||||
| Place of birth | Torquay, Devon, England | ||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||
| Weight | 98 kg (15 st 6 lb) [1] | ||||||
| School |
Paignton Community College Colston's School | ||||||
| Club information | |||||||
| Position | Hooker | ||||||
| Current club | Bath | ||||||
| Youth clubs | |||||||
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| Senior clubs* | |||||||
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| Representative teams** | |||||||
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* Professional club appearances and points counted for domestic first grade only. ** Representative team caps and points correct as of 5 July 2012. | |||||||
Lee Mears (born 5 March 1979 in Torquay) is a former English rugby union footballer, who played hooker at Bath. On 28 June 2012 Mears as well as fellow England companion Charlie Hodgson exited the international frame, having been a part of England's tour to South Africa. On 11 February 2013, Mears was forced to retire when he was diagnosed with a heart abnormality.
Early years
Mears first started playing rugby for the Torquay Athletic mini team. Then after playing at Paignton College, he went to Colston's School and came under the guidance of Andy Robinson and Alan Martinovic. He has played for Devon, and all the England age group teams. In 1997 he was a member of the unbeaten England U18 Schools team that toured Australia. He played in three world cup matches in New Zealand for England U21s.
Senior team
Mears joined the Bath Academy in 1997 after leaving Colston's School. He managed to score on his first XV début in a friendly against Saracens. Having made 268 Bath appearances over 16 seasons Mears had to retire following medical advice after routine cardiac screening.
International career
Mears was selected for the 2004 Churchill Cup squad but did not play in any of the games. The next year he helped England win the 2005 Churchill Cup and after being named in the Autumn test squad, he made his test début as a replacement against Samoa in November 2005. He came on as a replacement in the 2006 Six Nations Championship games against Wales, Italy and France, and earned a start against Ireland.
In 2007, Mears was selected in the England squad for the World Cup.
Mears was selected in the starting 15 against Scotland in the 2008 Six Nations. This came after several games trying to break into the side from the bench.
In June 2012, Mears announced his retirement from international Rugby.[2]
On 11 February 2013, he retired with immediate effect following diagnosis of a heart condition.[3]
References
- ↑ "RFU Official Site of the RFU, Governing Body of Rugby Union in England". web page. RFU. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ↑ "Lee Mears". Retrieved 2012-06-26.
- ↑ "Lee ears: Heart problem forces Bath hooker to retire from rugby". BBC Sport. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013.