James Bailey (born 5 August 1983) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

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 who plays primarily as a

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

. He has played for London Wasps,

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and

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

. He now works for the Rugby Players Association.

Career

Bailey joined

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was formed in 1873 and since 1891 has played its home matches ...

from

Bristol Rugby Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...

in 2004, having scored 14 tries in 21 matches for Bristol in the 2003–04 season. He played 49 matches for

and scored 11 tries. One of the most memorable tries that he scored was against London Wasps in May 2006 when

James Simpson-Daniel James David Simpson-Daniel (born 30 May 1982 in Stockton-on-Tees) is a former English rugby union footballer who played Wing (rugby union), wing or centre for Gloucester Rugby. He attended Red House School & Sedbergh School in the Yorkshire Dale ...

ran rings around

Lawrence Dallaglio Lorenzo Bruno Nero Dallaglio (born 10 August 1972) is an English retired rugby union player. He is a former captain of England, and a 2016 inductee of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Dallaglio played as a flanker or number eight for London ...

and passed the ball to Bailey who rounded off a beautiful try. He left Gloucester in August 2008 to pursue more first-team appearances elsewhere. A move to

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

fell through, leaving Bailey as a free agent. He signed for

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...

in September 2008, before leaving in the summer of 2009, after just one season at the

Exiles Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

, to sign for

Pro D2 The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It ...

. Bailey also featured in the sevens game, and played for the

England Sevens The England national rugby sevens team competes in the Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games. They have once won the Rugby World Cup Sevens — the inaugural tournament in 1993. Historically the team also competed in the World Rugby ...

team several times and was a major factor in

winning the Middlesex 7s title in 2005. James is now the Wellbeing and Transition Manager at the RPA, having been appointed in the summer of 2022.

References

External links

Gloucester Rugby profileEngland profile
1983 births Living people Black British sportsmen Bristol Bears players English rugby union players Gloucester Rugby players London Irish players Lyon OU Rugby players Rugby union players from London Wasps RFC players Rugby union wings People educated at Shiplake College People educated at Millfield English expatriate rugby union players in France English rugby sevens players England international rugby sevens players 21st-century English sportsmen {{England-rugbyunion-bio-1980s-stub