Lee Mears (born 5 March 1979) is an English former professional

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 as a hooker. He played his club rugby for

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

from 1998 until his retirement in 2013. He also played for the England national team from 2004 to 2012; he earned 42 caps and played in two Rugby World Cups, and played for the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

on their 2009 tour to South Africa.

Early years

Mears first started playing rugby for the Torquay Athletic mini team. Then after playing at Paignton College, he went to

Colston's School Collegiate School (formerly known as Colston's Collegiate School and Colston’s School) is a private day school in Bristol, England, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It was founded in 1710 by the merchant, ...

and came under the guidance of

Andy Robinson Richard Andrew Robinson Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 3 April 1964) is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He was the director of rugby at Bristol Bears, Bristol until November 2016. He is the former head coach of Scotland ...

and Alan Martinovic. He has played for Devon, and all the England age group teams. In 1997 he was a member of the unbeaten England U18 Schools team that toured Australia. He played in three world cup matches in New Zealand for England U21s.

Senior team

Mears joined the Bath Academy in 1997 after leaving Colston's School. He managed to score on his first XV debut in a friendly 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 ...

. Having made 268 Bath appearances over 16 seasons Mears had to retire following medical advice after routine cardiac screening.

International career

Mears was selected for the 2004

Churchill Cup The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's (and formerly women's) teams from Canada national rugby union team, Canada, England Saxons, England, the United States national rugby union te ...

squad but did not play in any of the games. The next year he helped England win the 2005 Churchill Cup and after being named in the Autumn test squad, he made his test debut as a replacement against

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in November 2005. He came on as a replacement in the

2006 Six Nations Championship The 2006 Six Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy national rugby union team, Italy. Including the previous incarnations as the Ho ...

games against

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 ...

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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 ...

, and earned a start 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 ...

. In 2007, Mears was selected in the England squad for 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 ...

. Mears was selected in the starting 15 against

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 ...

in the 2008 Six Nations. This came after several games trying to break into the side from the bench. In June 2012, Mears announced his retirement from international rugby. He retired from all forms of rugby on 11 February 2013, following diagnosis of a heart condition. Since retirement, he now runs a snack manufacturing company, specialising in budget potato crisps.

References

External links

Bath profileGuinness Premiership profileEngland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mears, Lee 1979 births Living people England international rugby union players English rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Rugby union hookers Bath Rugby players People educated at Colston's School Rugby union players from Torquay 2007 Rugby World Cup players 2011 Rugby World Cup players