Nick Macleod (born 23 March 1983 in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

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 ...

) is a 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 for

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as ...

and Newport Gwent Dragons. Primarily a fly-half, Macleod also played at Fullback.

Professional career

Macleod came through the

system, playing for the U21 side, and made his debut for

Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Ca ...

in November 2001 against Cambridge University. Macleod played for Wales U19 in 2002, and Wales U21 in 2004. Macleod made his debut for Cardiff Blues on 5 September 2003, against

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, scoring a try. Macleod was selected for

for the 2006 Wales rugby union tour of Argentina, in place of the injured

Hal Luscombe Haldane 'Hal' Naude Luscombe is a former Wales international rugby union player. His usual position was on the wing or in the centres. The last team he played for was Worcester Warriors in the top level of English rugby, the Guinness Premiershi ...

. Macleod did not gain a cap during the tour, and ultimately never achieved a Wales cap. In April 2008, it was announced that Macleod would leave Cardiff to sign for the

on a two-year deal. Macleod departed Cardiff with 82 appearances and scored 240 points. Macleod began the 2010–11 season as Sale's fly-half in the absence of the team's first choice, Charlie Hodgson; when Hodgson returned in late September he took over the position. In a

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

match for Sale against Cetransa El Salvador on 8 October 2010, Macleod equalled the club's record for most points scored in a game by a single player. When fly-half Charlie Hodgson, who previously held the record, was rested at half-time Macleod took over goal kicking. With two tries and eight successful conversions, Macleod scored 26 points in the match. The following month, Macleod experienced what he described a "highlight of iscareer so far" when he stepped up to captain Sale in a 24–19 defeat to

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

. Regular captain Neil Briggs was unavailable due to injury and Macleod filled the position. Hodgson suffered a broken foot in December, ruling him out for several months. In his absence, Macleod took the role of Sale's regular fly-half. Macleod's elevation to the captaincy was temporary and winger

Mark Cueto Mark John Cueto (born 26 December 1979 in Workington, Cumbria) is a former English international rugby union player. He played on the wing for Sale Sharks and England. He is currently the third leading try scorer in the Aviva Premiership. O ...

was appointed captain in late December 2010 by new coach

Pete Anglesea Anthony Peter Anglesea (born 30 October 1971 in Blackrod, Lancashire, England) was a rugby union rugby player, who played back row for the Sale Sharks. Highly regarded by Sale when forced to retire through injury in 2006, he first took a role ...

, who replaced Mike Brewer as Sale had won just three out of nine matches in the 2010–11 season. Hodgson left at the end of the 2010–11 season and the club chose not to sign a new fly-half. This meant that Macleod would be given a regular chance in the position. He had a successful run, scoring 231 points by mid-February when he signed a two-year extension on his contract. Macleod signed a further extension in November 2013. MacLeod joined Newport Gwent Dragons for the 2016–17 season and made six appearances before suffering a ligament injury which eventually forced him to retire from professional rugby; he now works as a baker in Cardiff.

References

External links

Cardiff Blues profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macleod, Nick 1983 births Living people Cardiff Rugby players Rugby union players from Cardiff Sale Sharks players Welsh rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves