Gavin Quinnell (born 25 November 1983) is a Welsh former

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. His career was ended as a result of an eye gouge in a Welsh premiership game. He played for several teams in England, Wales and Italy but finished his career with Magners league side Llanelli Scarlets. He is the son of Derek Quinnell and brother of

Scott Quinnell Scott Quinnell (born 20 August 1972) is a Welsh former rugby union and rugby league player who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He was a Number eight (rugby union), number eight for Wales, Llanelli RFC, Scarlets, Llanelli Scarlets, Richmond F.C., ...

and Craig Quinnell, all former Wales internationals. Before joining Llanelli Scarlets he started rugby in his home village for Furnace United RFC, as a youth player where he played mainly at Number 8. In 2006 he left the Llanelli Scarlets to join

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors are a professional rugby union club based in Worcester, England. They most recently played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby union, before being suspended by the Rugby Football Union, RFU in September 2 ...

in a two-year deal. He scored a total of nine tries in 20 appearances in his first season at Sixways and quickly became a cult hero with his all-action displays. Quinnell can play at Number 8, flanker or

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 ...

and established himself as a powerful impact player for Warriors. After not being offered a new contract by Worcester at the end of the 2007–08 season, Gavin Quinnell was forced to find a new club. He then moved on to Italian Super 10 (now

Top12 The Top10, known as the Peroni Top10 for sponsorship reasons, and formerly Top 12, is Italy's top level professional men's rugby union competition. The Top 10 is run by Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR) and is contested by 10 teams as of the 2 ...

) club Viadana. On 23 July 2010, Quinnell rejoined his former team

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 ...

on a two-year contract. Quinnell suffered an eye injury 30 minutes into a game against

Cross Keys RFC Cross Keys RFC () is a rugby union club located in the Wales, Welsh village of Crosskeys. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union, and is a feeder club for the Dragons (rugby union), Dragons regional team. History The club achieved first ...

on 2 October 2010. The following Thursday it was confirmed that, despite the best efforts of surgeons, he had lost the sight in his left eye. A Cross Keys player was arrested on suspicion of assault but following investigation by

Gwent Police Gwent Police () is a territorial police force in Wales, responsible for policing the local authority areas of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen. The force was formed in 1967 by the amalgamation of Monmouthshire ...

criminal charges were not pursued.Quinnell investigation
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References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20050209003059/http://www.rugbyviadana.it/eng/home.asp
Worcester Warriors Profile
at WRFC.co.uk
Guinness Premiership Profile
at GuinnessPremiership.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinnell, Gavin 1983 births Living people Rugby union controversies Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from Llanelli Scarlets players 21st-century Welsh sportsmen Welsh rugby union players Worcester Warriors players