Nevin Spence (26 April 199015 September 2012) was a Northern Ireland-born Irish

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player for

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

in the Pro12. He played as a Centre, but could also play

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

. He was educated firstly at Dromore High School, where he was introduced to rugby, and then at Wallace High School. He played his club rugby with Ballynahinch. He was also a capable

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, playing for the

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

U-16's.

Club career

Nevin rose to prominence at Ballynahinch during the hugely successful 2009/10 season. The club won the Ulster Senior League, Cup, AIL Division 2 and All-Ireland Cup all in a single season. Nevin was also a member of the Ulster Rugby Academy. Spence first tasted professional rugby against the

Ospreys The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

in April 2010. In the little more than two seasons that he played for Ulster he made 42 appearances, despite suffering a number of shoulder injuries, and scored five tries.

International career

He made 11 appearances for the Ireland national under-20 rugby union team, scoring four tries, and played twice at the

IRB Junior World Championship The World Rugby Under 20 Championship (known as the IRB Junior World Championship until 2014) is an international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, World Rugby, and is contested by 12 men's junior nat ...

s. After some strong performances for Ulster and two appearances for Ireland Wolfhounds, he was called up to Ireland's senior training squad for the 2011 Six Nations Championship. His talent was recognised by his fellow professionals in 2011 when he was named Young Player of the Year at the IRUPA Players' Awards. In May 2012 he played for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

against the Barbarians in a non-capped game played at Gloucester's Kingsholm Stadium.

Death

Spence died, along with his brother Graham and father Noel, in an accident at the family farm in

Hillsborough, County Down Royal Hillsborough ( Irish: ''Cromghlinn'', meaning 'Crooked Glen' Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 81. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1999.), more commonly known simply ...

on 15 September 2012, where they were overcome by fumes in a slurry tank. Spence's sister was treated in hospital and survived the accident. They were buried in Inch cemetery, following a joint funeral which was held at the Ballynahinch Baptist Church. As a mark of respect for Spence, a minute's silence was observed at many rugby games in Britain and Ireland the following week. A memorial service was held at Ravenhill Stadium, the home ground of Ulster Rugby, on Sunday 23 September 2012.Ravenhill memorial for Nevin Spence
u.tv. Retrieved 16 March 2015.

References

External links

Ulster ProfileIreland Wolfhounds Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, Nevin 1990 births 2012 deaths Accidental deaths in Northern Ireland Baptists from Northern Ireland Rugby union centres Rugby union wings People educated at Wallace High School, Lisburn People from County Down Ulster Rugby players 20th-century Baptists