Adam Balding (born 7 December 1979, in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...

) is a retired

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

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 ...

footballer, his most recent team he played for was

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons ...

. He played as a number eight. Balding came through

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 ho ...

academy and went on to make 66 appearances for the first XV. While there, he won the Premiership and

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken 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 ...

. Balding was called up to the senior

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 ...

squad for the 2002 tour of Argentina. Balding signed for

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

for the start of the 2004–05 season. After some impressive performances in his debut season, he was made club captain towards the back end of the season. In Gloucester's first game of the 2005/06 season at

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

, Balding was injured only a few minutes into the game. Balding returned from injury in early November, coming off the bench against

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football C ...

. He went on to make 16 appearances during the season; however he missed Gloucester's

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

victory against

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

at the end of the season. During the next 2 seasons Balding did not play regularly with stiff competition from James Forrester,

Luke Narraway Luke Narraway (born 7 September 1983 in Worcester) is a rugby union coach and former player, he played for London Irish until the end of the 2016–2017 season before joining Coventry as a player—coach for the 2017–2018 season. He is curren ...

and

Gareth Delve Gareth Leon Delve (born 30 December 1982) is a former Wales international rugby union player, and former captain of Gloucester. In late 2010, he moved to Australia where he went on to captain the Melbourne Rebels. His usual position is number 8 ...

. During those two seasons he was loaned out to both

Moseley Moseley is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants. The area also has a number of boutiques and ot ...

and

Leeds Carnegie Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University. These include: Current * Leeds Carnegie Handball Club Changed name * Leeds Carnegie ( ...

. Balding signed for Newcastle on 1 July 2008 for the start of the 2008–09 season. He signed for Worcester in February on a two-year deal. In 2012, Balding signed a contract with Newcastle Falcons and left

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

straight away. Balding suffered a serious Achilles injury in his third year at Gloucester which kept him out for 9 months; after returning to fitness game time was limited due to the form of the team. He then spent the rest of the 4th season on loan at Leeds. Adam was signed to London Welsh for the 2012/13 season and had a great season. Adam Balding Media Agent
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References

External links

Leicester Tigers profileGloucester profileLeeds Carnegie profileNewcastle Falcons profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balding, Adam 1979 births Living people English rugby union players Gloucester Rugby players Leeds Tykes players Leicester Tigers players Moseley Rugby Football Club players Newcastle Falcons players People educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry Rugby union players from Coventry Rugby union flankers