Tomos George Llewellyn Shanklin (born 24 November 1979 in Harrow, London) is a former

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

rugby union player who played outside centre for

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

and Wales. He played club rugby for London Welsh and then

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

, before joining

in 2003. The son of Jim Shanklin, who won four caps for Wales, Tom played for Wales at under-19, under-21 and A-team levels and made his first international appearance for the senior side against

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in Tokyo in 2001.

Early life

Shanklin was born in Harrow, London grew up in Tenby and

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, where he attended both Ysgol Greenhill School and Howard of Effingham School.

Wales

Shanklin made his debut in the

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

against France in 2001; 32 years previously his father, Jim, had won his first international cap against the same opponents. At first Shanklin was regarded as a "super sub" in the Welsh side, but later established himself in the starting line-up. He produced some notable performances in the 2004 Autumn internationals, scoring eight tries in the four games. This included four tries against Romania and a spectacular try against New Zealand - although his contribution was minimal and he benefitted from a lucky bounce. He was sometimes played as a wing, but started all the

2005 Six Nations The 2005 Six Nations Championship was the sixth Six Nations Championship played since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy. Including the Home Nations and Five Nations Championships, this was the 111th season of the tournament. Wales ...

matches in his preferred position at centre. He was selected for the

2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand In 2005, the British & Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing seven matches against first and second division teams from the National Provincial Championship, one match against the New Zealand Mao ...

, but suffered a knee injury early in the tour which meant that he had to be replaced. As a result, he also missed the majority of the 2005–06 season. On 21 April 2009, Shanklin was named as a member of the British & Irish Lions for the 2009 tour to South Africa. But on 7 May it was announced that he would miss the tour because he required reconstructive surgery on his shoulder that would keep him out for 16 weeks. Shanklin won 70 caps for Wales (56 starts and 14 appearances as a substitute). He scored 20 tries, placing him 5th-equal (with Gerald Davies and Gareth Edwards) on the list of record try-scorers for Wales. Following a fourth knee operation in February 2011, on 21 April Shanklin announced his immediate retirement from all forms of the game.

References

External links

Cardiff Blues ProfileWales profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shanklin, Tom 1979 births Living people British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Cardiff Rugby players London Welsh RFC players Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Harrow, London Rugby union wings Saracens F.C. players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players