David Luke Flatman (born 21 January 1980) is an English sports pundit and former rugby union player who played

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

. Flatman represented eight times between 2000 and 2002, playing club rugby for

Saracens upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

and Bath. Flatman is routinely referred to by his nickname Flats.

Career

Early life

Born in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

he started playing rugby union at the age of eight at his local club, Maidstone FC, inspired by his father, who was a

. A product of

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose o ...

, he appeared in the same England Schools (18-group) squad as

Steve Borthwick Stephen William Borthwick (born 12 October 1979) is an English rugby union coach who played lock for Bath and Saracens. At International level, he represented the senior England rugby union team between 2001 and 2010 and captained them between ...

Andrew Sheridan Andrew John Sheridan (born 1 November 1979 in Petts Wood, Bromley, England) is a retired English rugby union player who played as a loosehead prop. Sheridan is tall, which is unusually tall for a prop, and weighs . He is known for his great ...

(also of

), Alex Sanderson,

Mike Tindall Michael James Tindall, (born 18 October 1978) is an English former rugby union player. Tindall played outside centre for Bath and Gloucester, and won 75 caps for England between 2000 and 2011. He was a member of the England squad which won t ...

and

Jonny Wilkinson Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, CBE (born 25 May 1979) is an English former rugby union player. A fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and Toulon and represented England and the British & Irish Lions. He is particularly known for scoring the ...

. Flatman toured Australia with England Schools in 1997 and the following year went to Argentina with England Colts. He represented London & South-West and England Under-21s against South Africa in the autumn of 1998.

Senior career

His senior club rugby began with

in 1998. 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. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for as a replacement against on 17 June 2000, England lost 18–13; he also appeared in the tour matches against North-West Leopards and Gauteng Falcons. He made a second tour with the side to North America in the summer of 2001, appearing as a replacement for

Graham Rowntree Graham Christopher Rowntree (born 18 April 1971) is an English rugby union former player and current head coach of Irish club Munster. He played loosehead prop for Leicester Tigers and England. He was capped 54 times for England, despite hav ...

in the Burnaby and San Francisco Tests against Canada and the United States respectively. He was a regular in the England A side since making his debut against France in Blagnac in 2000. He had a sequence of seven England A team games before being recalled to the senior squad for the final test of the 2000–1 season against France at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the borou ...

. He moved to Bath in 2003. Flatman announced his retirement from rugby in June 2012. In all he won eight England Caps

Media career

Following the end of his playing career, he was Head of Communications at Bath Rugby for two years; he left this role in 2014. Flatman now works as a pundit for ITV,

BT Sport BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and BT Group, they first launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Broad ...

and

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one ...

often alongside Topsy Ojo. He presents a humorous and informative rugby podcast with his former Saracens teammate Tom Shanklin, called ''Flats and Shanks''. In 2016 the ''Daily Telegraph'' named him as the fifth best sports pundit on British TV.

References

External links

Bath profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flatman, David 1980 births Living people Bath Rugby players England international rugby union players English rugby union players People educated at Dulwich College People educated at Maidstone Grammar School Rugby union players from Ashford, Kent Rugby union props Saracens F.C. players