Justin Tipuric ( ; born 6 August 1989) is a Welsh former international

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 for

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 ...

as an

openside flanker Flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Each team of 15 players includes two flankers, who play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside or openside flankers, numbers 6 and 7 respectively. The name comes from ...

. He is the current captain at Ospreys.

Early life

Although Tipuric grew up in Trebanos, he was born in the village of

Alltwen Alltwen (or Allt-wen; translates to "white wooded slope") is a village in the Swansea Valley (Welsh: ''Cwmtawe'') in Wales. Alltwen forms part of the community of Cilybebyll and is administered separately from adjoining Pontardawe on the opposit ...

and is of Croatian descent. Tipuric's father was a keen rugby player and captain of Trebanos RFC. Justin and his younger brothers all played for this club and, on his mother's insistence, Tipuric was required to wear a

Scrum cap The scrum cap is a form of headgear used by Rugby football, rugby players to protect the ears in the scrum (rugby), scrum, which can otherwise suffer injuries leading to the condition commonly known as cauliflower ears. Although originally design ...

from a young age. As such, he has worn a distinctive blue cap (the traditional Trebanos colours) throughout his career.

Club career

Tipuric plays for the Ospreys Welsh regional team, having previously played for

Aberavon RFC Aberavon Rugby Club () is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, though the club's name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town. The club was founded in 1876 as Afan Football ...

. His Ospreys debut came as a replacement in an LV= Cup home defeat to Northampton Saints on 5 November 2009, and he has now played more than 200 times for his home region, including starting in the 2012 Magners League title win over Leinster in Dublin in May, 2012. He was made Ospreys captain from the 2018/19 season.

International career

In June 2011 he was named in the

Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team () represents the Welsh Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international agai ...

45-man training squad for 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 ...

, but was ultimately left out of the final squad. He made his Wales international debut on 20 August 2011 versus Argentina as a second-half replacement. He was also included in the Wales Rugby Sevens in 10/11. After his efforts for the Welsh side in the

2013 Six Nations Championship The 2013 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2013 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 14th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship ...

, he was selected by

Warren Gatland Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand former rugby union player and the former head coach of the Wales national rugby union team, Wales national team. As a player, he was a Hooker (rugby union), hooker and was one of ...

for the

2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia The 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia was a rugby union tour during June and July 2013. The British & Irish Lions played ten matches - a three-Test match (rugby union), test series against Australia national rugby union team, Austra ...

. In August 2015 Tipuric named to the

Welsh national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team () represents the Welsh Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international agai ...

47-man training squad for

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...

, and started in the home & away warm-up fixtures against Ireland, scoring tries in both fixtures (the first was nominated for World Rugby Try of the Year) and being named man of the match in the second game. Tipuric was named to the final 31-man squad, and despite his fantastic form entering the tournament, he was dropped from the starting XV in favour of returning captain Sam Warburton. He did however feature in all 5 of Wales' games scoring a try in the win 54–9 against

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 ...

, his third successive international with a try. After being named in the squad for the

2016 Six Nations Championship The 2016 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2016 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by The Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 17th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. It ...

, Tipuric went on to feature in all 5 games, starting alongside longtime rival Sam Warburton against Ireland & Scotland. In the final game against Italy, Tipuric sustained a heavy concussion during a line out which resulted in Tipuric requiring a three-month break from the sport to recover, ruling him out of the summer tour to New Zealand. Following his return from injury Tipuric was included Robert Howley's squad for the

2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals The 2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals, also known as the ''2016 Autumn Internationals'' in the Northern Hemisphere, were a series of international rugby union matches predominantly played between the visiting Southern Hemisphere countries ...

, going onto start in 3 fixtures including a man of the match try scoring performance versus South Africa. Tipuric was named in the squad for the

2017 Six Nations Championship The 2017 Six Nations Championship was the 18th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. The tournament was also known as the RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by NatWest ...

, and started in the first fixture versus Italy. Tipuric announced his retirement from International Rugby on 20 May 2023. He will continue to play for the Ospreys.

International tries

References

External links

*
How wrestling matches with a prisoner of war made Justin Tipuric
*
Wales Profile

Justin Tipuric nominated for World Rugby try of the year award

Wales’ Justin Tipuric given three month concussion layoff
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tipuric, Justin 1989 births Living people Aberavon RFC players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Ospreys (rugby union) players 21st-century Welsh sportsmen Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Neath Port Talbot Wales international rugby union players British people of Croatian descent Welsh rugby union players 2015 Rugby World Cup players 2019 Rugby World Cup players