Joseph Paul Richard Worsley, (born 14 June 1977) is a retired English

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 played

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

for

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Biography

Worsley was born in London and educated at

Hitchin Boys' School Hitchin Boys' School (HBS) is an 11–18 boys academy-status secondary school, with sixth form, located in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. Founded in 1632 by John Mattocke, the single-sex school currently educates around 1,500 boys. The sixth ...

and

Brunel University Brunel University of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...

. He joined London Wasps at the age of 16 from Welwyn RFC. He went on to help Wasps win the

Anglo-Welsh Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

in 1999 and 2000. He became the youngest player to represent England U21s, after being a member of the England Schools 18 Group Grand Slam team in 1994–95. Amongst his trophies at Wasps were four Premiership titles in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2008. Worsley played in all four finals, scoring a try in 2003. He also played in the victorious 2004 and 2007 Heineken Cup finals. Worsley is noted for his defensive capabilities against opposing ball-carriers. His ability to play any of the three back row positions earned him a place in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

Squad in 1999 as a bench replacement. He won his first cap against

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

at the World Cup, then came on as a replacement against both

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

during

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

matches in 2000. He won two more caps as a replacement in that summer's Tests against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in Pretoria and Bloemfontein. He enjoyed a successful tour to North America in the summer of 2001, filling

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 ...

's number 8 position and scoring against both

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He continued in the back row for England's 2001 Investec Challenge matches, when he turned in two outstanding performances against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

. He also replaced Richard Hill in both of England's 2003 tour matches against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

. His 2002–03 season started well, and Worsley won the Man of The Match award against

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

in September. However, a

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

injury, forced him out of the England Autumn Internationals and six weeks of the

Zurich Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...

. He scored England's second try in their win over

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

at Cardiff in 2003, just eight days after scoring against France A for England A at

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

, and being voted man of the match. Worsley was a member of England's victorious

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

squad in 2003, coming on during the pool match against

and starting against both

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. In 2004 he played against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the

, as well as coming off the bench against

to score a match winning try. Worsley played powerfully against both

and

in November 2004. He started in the back row, now an automatic choice after former England captain

retired from England duty two months earlier. He was a member of the London Wasps side that won both the

final and the Heineken European Cup Final in 2004 and he played well on the summer tour to New Zealand and Australia. He missed out on England's entire 2005 Autumn test series due to a knee injury but regained full fitness in time for the 2006 Six nations championship. Worsley participated in the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

. He made a "try-saving tap-tackle" which prevented Vincent Clerc of France from scoring a probable match-winning try late in the semi-final (13 October). Worsley toured New Zealand in June 2008, coming on as a substitute in both Tests, and was named as a replacement for Tom Rees in the shadow of the 2009 Six Nations, and began as a replacement against Italy. He then restarted his international career, starting in front of Steffon Armitage against Wales, and proving his worth, earning man of the match. He played on the Lions 2009 tour of South Africa in front of any other English flankers other than Tom Croft. On 1 August 2011 it was announced that Worsley had been cut from England's training squad due to injury and would probably miss the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

. On 14 November 2011 it was announced that Worsley would be forced to retire due to a neck injury. Worsley was defence coach of French top 14 team Castres Olympique. Worsley moved to

CA Brive Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive () or CAB, is a French professional rugby union club based in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in the Corrèze, Corrèze department. Brive is a historical member of French rugby un ...

again as defence coach

Charitable work

He is an Honorary President of the rugby charity

Wooden Spoon A wooden spoon is a Kitchen utensil, utensil commonly used in food preparation. In addition to its culinary uses, wooden spoons also feature in folk art and culture. History The word ''spoon'' derives from an ancient word meaning a chip of woo ...

improving the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and

. He has also started actively participating in rugby classes for the Alex Boys academy, helping disadvantaged children learn rugby of which he is a keen advocate.

References

External links

England profile

Wasps Profile

Joe Worsley at sportingheroes.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worsley, Joe 1977 births Living people English rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Rugby union players from London Wasps RFC players Rugby union flankers Members of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Brunel University London England international rugby union players People educated at Hitchin Boys' School 1999 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players