Colin Charvis
Encyclopedia
Colin Charvis is a former captain of the Welsh national rugby union team and also played for the British and Irish lions
. A back row forward, Charvis was equally adept as a flanker
or as the no. 8.
Charvis became the world record try scorer for a forward in test match rugby on 24 November 2007 v South Africa at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff with his 22nd international try. He has since been overtaken by Takashi Kikutani
of Japan on the List of leading rugby union test try scorers.
Charvis has 2 caps for the British and Irish Lions; both appearances were against Australia in 2001. Further representative honours include Wales Students, Wales U21 and Wales A.
, Birmingham
on 27 December, 1972 to Lloyd and Lynne Charvis. Lloyd is now living in Kansas City
, Missouri
, USA and is a successful painter there. He began his club career with London Welsh while studying at Polytechnic of Central London
. He stayed at the club until 1995, when he moved to Swansea RFC
.
in 2001.
He remained with Swansea until changes in the Welsh club structure saw him without a contract in the period of the 2003 Rugby World Cup
.
in France and then to Newcastle Falcons
in England whom he also captained.
Charvis's contract with the Falcons was not renewed at the end of the 2005-6 season. He subsequently joined the Newport Gwent Dragons
. He made his debut for the club in August in a pre-season friendly against the Cornish Pirates
and Carlo Checchinato
are the others). He was the second most capped player for Wales and the most capped forward with 94 caps until overtaken by Martyn Williams
13 March 2010. He also featured in the 1999 Rugby World Cup and captained Wales in the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
After appearances against England, Scotland, Ireland and Italy in the 2006 RBS Six Nations Charvis had a spell away from the international scene. However, his blistering form for the Dragons throughout the 2006–2007 season saw him named in Gareth Jenkins's touring squad to Australia in May 2007.
He appeared in both Tests and following the tour, Charvis was named in Gareth Jenkins' 41-man preliminary Rugby World Cup 2007 summer training squad. He made the final 30-man squad in August after playing in the Test against England and made substitute appearances in both Invesco Perpetual Summer Series matches against Argentina and France.
Charvis made a try-scoring substitute appearance in Wales's opening Pool B match against Canada, and made the starting line-ups for the remaining Pool clashes with Australia, Japan and Fiji.
In November 2007 Wales Caretaker Coach Nigel Davies included Charvis in his starting line-up for the inaugural Prince William Cup clash with South Africa. Despite the 34-12 defeat to the reigning world champions Charvis scored his 22nd try for his country in the clash, becoming the world's top forward try-scorer to date.
in July 2008. However, because of injuries amongst the playing squad Charvis returned to the team, and as a result of his excellent form he played a number of matches during the 2008-09 season, but then hung up his boots in order to be full time forwards and defence coach. He parted company with the Dragons
in late September 2010.
tournament, winning the Cup Division in their inaugural appearance at the tournament.
Charvis is also one of eight celebrities chosen to participate in an intense week learning Welsh in an eco-friendly chic campsite in Pembrokeshire
, West Wales
in the series cariad@iaith:love4language
shown on S4C in July 2011.
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
. A back row forward, Charvis was equally adept as a flanker
Flanker (rugby union)
A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...
or as the no. 8.
Charvis became the world record try scorer for a forward in test match rugby on 24 November 2007 v South Africa at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff with his 22nd international try. He has since been overtaken by Takashi Kikutani
Takashi Kikutani
is a Japanese rugby union player. He plays as number-eight or flanker for Toyota Verblitz.He has currently 33 caps for Japan, with 18 tries scored, 90 points on aggregate. His first match was a 44-29 win over Spain, at 5 November 2005, in Tokyo, in a friendly match, aged 25 years old. He is also...
of Japan on the List of leading rugby union test try scorers.
Charvis has 2 caps for the British and Irish Lions; both appearances were against Australia in 2001. Further representative honours include Wales Students, Wales U21 and Wales A.
Early life
Charvis was born in Sutton ColdfieldSutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
on 27 December, 1972 to Lloyd and Lynne Charvis. Lloyd is now living in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, USA and is a successful painter there. He began his club career with London Welsh while studying at Polytechnic of Central London
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
. He stayed at the club until 1995, when he moved to Swansea RFC
Swansea RFC
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...
.
1995-2003: Swansea
His first cap for Wales was in 1996 against Australia: he went on to become team captain for a period and toured Australia with the British and Irish LionsBritish and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
in 2001.
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
.
2003-2007: Tarbes, Newcastle and Newport Gwent Dragons
Charvis moved briefly to TarbesTarbes Pyrénées Rugby
Tarbes Pyrénées Rugby is a French rugby union team that currently takes part in Pro D2, the second level of the country's professional league system....
in France and then to Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle Falcons
The Newcastle Falcons is an English rugby union team currently playing in the Aviva Premiership. The club was established in 1877 and played under the name of Gosforth Football Club until 1990. The name was then changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in...
in England whom he also captained.
Charvis's contract with the Falcons was not renewed at the end of the 2005-6 season. He subsequently joined the Newport Gwent Dragons
Newport Gwent Dragons
Newport Gwent Dragons are one of the four professional Rugby Union regional teams in Wales. They are jointly owned by Newport RFC and the Welsh Rugby Union and play all their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12, the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the Heineken Cup...
. He made his debut for the club in August in a pre-season friendly against the Cornish Pirates
Wales
Charvis has scored 22 tries for his country, making him the leading try scorer among all Welsh forwards. He is also one of only three forwards to score over 100 international points (John EalesJohn Eales
John Eales AM is an Australian former rugby union player and the most successful captain in the history of Australian rugby.-Early life:...
and Carlo Checchinato
Carlo Checchinato
Carlo Checchinato was an Italian rugby union player and is the current team manager for the Italian national team....
are the others). He was the second most capped player for Wales and the most capped forward with 94 caps until overtaken by Martyn Williams
Martyn Williams
Martyn Elwyn Williams is a Welsh international rugby union player. A flanker, he plays for Cardiff Blues and the Wales national rugby union team as an open-side flanker...
13 March 2010. He also featured in the 1999 Rugby World Cup and captained Wales in the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
After appearances against England, Scotland, Ireland and Italy in the 2006 RBS Six Nations Charvis had a spell away from the international scene. However, his blistering form for the Dragons throughout the 2006–2007 season saw him named in Gareth Jenkins's touring squad to Australia in May 2007.
He appeared in both Tests and following the tour, Charvis was named in Gareth Jenkins' 41-man preliminary Rugby World Cup 2007 summer training squad. He made the final 30-man squad in August after playing in the Test against England and made substitute appearances in both Invesco Perpetual Summer Series matches against Argentina and France.
Charvis made a try-scoring substitute appearance in Wales's opening Pool B match against Canada, and made the starting line-ups for the remaining Pool clashes with Australia, Japan and Fiji.
In November 2007 Wales Caretaker Coach Nigel Davies included Charvis in his starting line-up for the inaugural Prince William Cup clash with South Africa. Despite the 34-12 defeat to the reigning world champions Charvis scored his 22nd try for his country in the clash, becoming the world's top forward try-scorer to date.
2008-2010: Player-coach
Charvis was appointed to a player/coach role at Newport Gwent DragonsNewport Gwent Dragons
Newport Gwent Dragons are one of the four professional Rugby Union regional teams in Wales. They are jointly owned by Newport RFC and the Welsh Rugby Union and play all their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12, the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the Heineken Cup...
in July 2008. However, because of injuries amongst the playing squad Charvis returned to the team, and as a result of his excellent form he played a number of matches during the 2008-09 season, but then hung up his boots in order to be full time forwards and defence coach. He parted company with the Dragons
Newport Gwent Dragons
Newport Gwent Dragons are one of the four professional Rugby Union regional teams in Wales. They are jointly owned by Newport RFC and the Welsh Rugby Union and play all their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12, the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the Heineken Cup...
in late September 2010.
Post-professional career
After leaving his professional playing days behind Charvis toured with JML Welsh Warriors, a semi-professional rugby union team, to the annual Manila 10sManila 10s
The Manila 10s is an annual mens rugby union tournament featuring a variant of rugby union popular in Southeast Asia called Rugby tens organized annually by Nomads Sports Club in Parañaque, Manila. The tournament is held one week before Hong Kong Sevens every year, allowing clubs from around the...
tournament, winning the Cup Division in their inaugural appearance at the tournament.
Charvis is also one of eight celebrities chosen to participate in an intense week learning Welsh in an eco-friendly chic campsite in Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, West Wales
West Wales
West Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area which historically comprised the Welsh principality of Deheubarth., an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics....
in the series cariad@iaith:love4language
Cariad@iaith:love4language
cariad@iaith:love4language is an S4C reality television series in which people attempt to learn the Welsh language.-History:Commissioned in 2002 from an idea by Fflic production staff, cariad@iaith:love4language originally involved members of the public who wished to learn Welsh, spending six weeks...
shown on S4C in July 2011.