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Lee Byrne

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Lee Byrne
Birth nameLee Martin Byrne
Date of birth (1980-06-01) 1 June 1980 (age 44)
Place of birthBridgend, Wales
Height191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight98 kg (15 st 6 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback, Wing
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
– Tondu RFC ()
– Bridgend Athletic ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2003–2005 Llanelli RFC 41 (72)
2003–2006 Scarlets 29 (50)
2006–2011 Ospreys 92 (145)
2011–2014 Clermont 62 (45)
2014–2015 Dragons 6 (0)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2005–2011 Wales 46 (55)
2009 British & Irish Lions 1 (5)
Correct as of 24 November 2011
Rugby league career
Playing information
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
Bridgend Blue Bulls

Lee Byrne (born 1 June 1980) is a Welsh former professional rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s.

Club career

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Byrne started his career playing rugby union for Bridgend Athletic RFC;[1] and Tondu RFC, as a full-back or wing, and after being spotted playing rugby league for Bridgend Blue Bulls, he signed for the Llanelli Scarlets.

While playing against Connacht in 2007, Byrne as a stand-in kicker kicked two penalties and two conversions after fly-half Shaun Connor went off injured.

Given permission to seek a new club for the 2011–12 season, Byrne signed a three-year deal to play for French club ASM Clermont Auvergne, to play his club rugby post the 2011 Rugby World Cup.[2]

On 8 January 2014, it was reported that Byrne had agreed to join Newport Gwent Dragons from the end of the 2013–14 season.[3]

On 23 April 2015, it was announced Byrne was to retire from all rugby with immediate effect, after failing to recover from a shoulder injury.[4]

International career

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Following his performances for the Llanelli Scarlets in both the Celtic League, and the Heineken Cup during the 2005–06 season, he was called up to the national squad for the November Test series. He made his début as a replacement against New Zealand on 5 November at the Millennium Stadium; Wales lost 41–3. He also played in the win over Fiji, and the defeat by South Africa. He has since played during the 2006 Six Nations Championship, and earned a further two caps in a mid-year series against Argentina. His sole appearance in the 2006 Autumn internationals was on the wing against the Pacific Islands. Byrne played in the 2008 Six Nations Championship tournament at full back and was a component of Wales' Grand Slam team.

He scored tries against England and Italy in the 2008 Six Nations Championship. Following his performances for Wales in the 2008 Autumn Internationals against South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia (which included a try against the latter), Byrne had been tipped not only for a place in the British & Irish Lions squad, but also a place in the starting 15.[5] This was confirmed on 21 April 2009, when Byrne, along with Ireland's Rob Kearney, were selected as one of the British & Irish Lions' fullbacks for the tour. After the fourth tour match he was one of five players to be picked for three of them.[6]

He caused controversy in February 2010 during the Scotland match when Scotland's coach Andy Robinson accused Byrne of diving to get substitute fly-half Phil Godman sent off and give Wales a penalty, from which they scored and went on to win the match.[7]

Byrne was a member of the Wales squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. He earned his final cap in the pool match against Fiji.[4]

International tries

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Wales

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Try Opponent Location Venue Competition Date Result
1  Argentina Buenos Aires, Argentina Estadio Jose Amalfitani 2006 June rugby union tests 17 June 2006 Loss
2 Pacific Islanders Cardiff, Wales Millennium Stadium 2006 Autumn Internationals 11 November 2006 Win
3  England London, England Twickenham Stadium 2008 Six Nations 2 February 2008 Win
4  Italy Cardiff, Wales Millennium Stadium 2008 Six Nations 3 February 2008 Win
5
6  Australia Cardiff, Wales Millennium Stadium 2008 Autumn Internationals 29 November 2008 Win
7  France Paris, France Stade de France 2009 Six Nations 27 February 2009 Loss
8  Scotland Cardiff, Wales Millennium Stadium 2010 Six Nations 13 February 2010 Win
9  New Zealand Cardiff, Wales Millennium Stadium 2010 Autumn Internationals 27 November 2010 Loss
10  Namibia New Plymouth, New Zealand Yarrow Stadium 2011 Rugby World Cup 26 September 2011 Win

British & Irish Lions

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Try Opponent Location Venue Competition Date Result
1  South Africa Durban, South Africa Kings Park Stadium 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa 20 June 2009 Loss

Personal life

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It was announced in March 2011 that Byrne had become engaged to ITV Wales Tonight presenter Andrea Benfield; they married on New Year's Day 2012.[8]

The couple's first child, a daughter, was born in 2019, after being conceived naturally; Byrne had previously been told by doctors that she would likely "never be able to carry her own pregnancy" and spent seven years undergoing IVF treatment.[9]

Byrne has spoken publicly about his dyslexia. It has caused him some setbacks - "There were a couple of times where I would go out and the French players would say I wasn’t picking up French very easily. I remember one of the players saying I was lazy and I wasn't learning. Obviously there was a reason because of my dyslexia, so that upset me a little bit" - but it has not been exclusively a negative for him - "I could see space before it happened - quicker than anybody else - so in a way I suppose it was a gift for me."[10]

In November 2017, Lee Byrne published his autobiography, The Byrne Identity.[11] Sections from it were serialised over four editions of the Western Mail newspaper.[12][13]

References

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  1. ^ "Club news". Archived from the original on 2 July 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  2. ^ "Planet Rugby | Rugby Union Tournaments | Top 14". Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  3. ^ "Newport Gwent Dragons sign Wales' Lee Byrne and Aled Brew". BBC Sport. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Lee Byrne: Injury forces Dragons' ex-Wales star to retire". BBC Sport. 23 April 2015.
  5. ^ Jeremy Guscott column on the BBC
  6. ^ "No let up for O'Connell". Sky Sports. 8 June 2009. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  7. ^ "Robinson accuses Byrne over sin-binning". BBC News. 13 February 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  8. ^ "Rugby star proposes to TV presenter before French move". 27 March 2011.
  9. ^ Mercer, Rosie (21 October 2024). "Infertility made me feel guilty, says TV newsreader". BBC News. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Ex-Wales international Byrne talks life with dyslexia". 14 March 2016.
  11. ^ "The Byrne Identity, Y Lolfa 2017". Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  12. ^ Abbandonato, Paul (20 October 2017). "WRU chiefs to meet Lee Byrne following claims about Rob Howley in explosive new book". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 1 November 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  13. ^ Abbandonato, Paul (20 October 2017). "Lee Byrne autobiography: Rob Howley left me humiliated in front of team-mates and my Wales career was over". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 1 November 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
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