Mark Regan MBE (born 28 January 1972 in

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 ...

) is an English 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. Nicknamed 'Ronnie', he played as a hooker for

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as well as

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and the

British and 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 ...

Career

Regan's England breakthrough came when he succeeded Brian Moore in 1995 for the visit of South Africa to Twickenham in November. He became the first player to make his England debut in the professional era of rugby union, which began in August of that year. Despite being on the losing side, he retained his place for the 1996 and 1997 Five Nations championships. Selected for the 1997 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa, he was kept out of the first and second tests by Keith Wood, but played in the final test. He lost form on his return from Lions duty and lost his England place to new club mate Andy Long and then Richard Cockerill. Even though he played a major role in

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

victory over Brive in Bordeaux, the hooker was out of favour with England Coach

Clive Woodward Sir Clive Ronald Woodward (born 6 January 1956) is an English former rugby union player and coach (sport), coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He also coached the 2005 Britis ...

. In 1999/2000, Regan re-emerged as a player: he shed over a stone in weight and hit back at critics who believed his line-out throwing was too inconsistent for international level by turning in some impressive performances for Bath. A prominent figure in the clubs late season challenge for the Allied Dunbar Premiership, he was voted the Bath forward of the year. Regan returned to the international scene as a training squad member and England A player. He returned to the

squad on the tour to South Africa in 2000. He played some of the best rugby of his career and selection for the autumn internationals followed. Phil Greening's knee and hand injuries allowed him to take over as England's number one hooker for the Six Nations Championship; however,

opted for

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

Dorian West and Regan was forced to sit on the bench for most of the campaign. Though he missed out on the Lions tour to Australia during the summer, Regan was selected for

's summer tour. However, hindered by his injury, Regan struggled to find his early season form. He remained part of the

set-up for the 2001-2002 season and again went on tour in the summer to Argentina. Regan joined

in August 2002 from Bath and quickly became a central figure at Headingley. He made his debut on the opening day of the 2002-2003 season in a 26-13 win over

. After moving to Leeds his displays not only saw him become a crowd favourite but also saw a revival in his international career, as he was selected for the England squad for the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

. Regan announced his international retirement in 2004 after not being selected for the game against

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. He left Leeds at the end of the 2004-05 season having helped secure Leeds Premiership status, as well as winning a Powergen Cup winners medal, the final of which he started. He played 69 times for Leeds and scored 6 tries. In 2005-6 he was instrumental in helping newly promoted

(his hometown club) retain their Premiership status. He came out of international retirement in 2007 and was impressive in England's otherwise lacklustre tour of

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. Consequently, he was named in the England squad for 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 was also named in the England squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship alongside Leicester's George Chuter and Bath's Lee Mears. After the world cup, Regan was selected to captain the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

against but was refused permission to play from Bristol. However, Regan ignored the club and played the game anyway. After England beat

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24-13 in

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in the 2008 Six Nations Championship, Regan was described by French coach Marc Lièvremont as a 'grotesque clown'. This was to be Regan's last appearance for England. In February 2009, Regan announced his intention to retire at the end of the season. He is now Forwards Coach at Clifton Rugby Club playing a part in leading them to the South West One title and the EDF Cup Final at Twickenham. He is also currently involved in the buy-to-let property market, working with property investment companies Midas Estates and Property Investment Plan.

Honours

* European Rugby Champions Cup Winner 1998 * Powergen Cup/Anglo-Welsh Cup titles: 1 **2005 *

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 ...

Winner

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

References

External links

England profileProfile at Bristol RugbyMark Regan photo by sportingheroes.netRegans career in pictures - BBC.co.ukMark Regan EnterprisesMidas Estates
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regan, Mark 1972 births Living people English rugby union players Rugby union hookers Members of the Order of the British Empire Bristol Bears players Leeds Tykes players Barbarian F.C. players Bath Rugby players Rugby union players from Bristol England international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players