Dwayne Peel
Encyclopedia
Dwayne John Peel is a Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 player who plays for Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...

 and Wales. He is the most capped scrum-half for the Wales national rugby union team
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...

.

Peel started his rugby career playing for Tumble RFC
Tumble RFC
Tumble RFC is a rugby union club representing the village of Tumble, South Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Llanelli Scarlets.-Club history:...

 at Under-8s level. He made his professional club debut for Llanelli RFC
Llanelli RFC
Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...

 before moving to the Llanelli Scarlets region at its creation in 2003.

Peel made his international debut for Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...

 in 2001 against Japan
Japan national rugby union team
The Japan national rugby union team represent Japan in international rugby union competitions. Japan is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia but has both enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years...

. He was still on his geography degree course at the Swansea University
Swansea University
Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...

 at the time. During his time at Swansea University, he became friends with Edward Lewsey – a Welsh Under-21 international, and brother of England international Josh Lewsey
Josh Lewsey
Owen Joshua Lewsey MBE is a former English rugby union footballer who played fullback, wing or centre for Wasps.-Career:...

. Peel has since scored five tries (25 points) scoring his debut Test try against Italy in 2003 for Wales, and has earned a total of 63 caps.

In 2005, Peel was selected for the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand
2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand
In 2005 the British and Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing 7 tour matches against first and second division clubs from the National Provincial Championship series, 1 tour match against the national New Zealand all Māori club, and 3 official test...

, and was the youngest Lion on the tour. On 9 September 2007, Peel was captain for Wales when they beat Canada 42–17 in their opening match in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

On 15 January 2008, it was announced that by the Llanelli Scarlets that Peel would be joining Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...

 at the end of the 2007–08 season.
Peel joined, on a three-year contract, at the start of the 2008–09 season.

New Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...

 coach Warren Gatland
Warren Gatland
Warren David Gatland is a former New Zealand rugby footballer and the current head coach of the Wales national team.Gatland was born in Hamilton, New Zealand and educated at Hamilton Boys' High School and Waikato University...

 later stated that Peel would be an exception to his desired policy to keep Welsh players in Wales. but on 19 January 2009 it was announced that Peel would not be part of the Welsh
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...

 squad for the 2009 Six Nations Championship
2009 Six Nations Championship
The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2009 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the tenth Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams...

. Peel was subsequently called into the squad, however, as cover for injured Gareth Cooper
Gareth Cooper
Gareth Cooper is a former Wales international rugby union player who plays at scrum-half for the Cardiff Blues. He is renowned for his darting breaks from rucks.-Career:...

 and on 8 February 2009 played in the second half of Wales' opening match against Scotland.

External links

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