Mark Cueto
Encyclopedia
Mark John "Frank" Cueto is an English international
rugby union
player. He plays on the wing for Sale Sharks
and England
.
in the 1900s and settled in Maryport, Cumbria, where he set up a fish-and-chip shop. His Cumbrian home town of Workington
is in an area more associated with rugby league
than union. Although he played his first rugby game as an eight-year-old in Workington
, and played after he moved with his parents to Wolverhampton
, he did not grow up playing the game. When he was 10 years old, his parents moved again to Crewe
, where he took up football
instead of rugby, becoming a keen Manchester United fan. He did not play rugby again until he was 17. His early club was Altrincham Kersal.
Then, when he was 17 and in his final A-level year at Alsager Comprehensive
, there was the annual rugby match against Holmes Chapel. It was an occasion of no great importance. Holmes Chapel had a reasonable team, but rugby players were thin on the ground at Alsager and there was not much debate about the likely result. To make up a team, Alsager teacher Lindsay Purcell recruited a number of footballers. Cueto was one of those press-ganged into service, though when it came to sport he was easily persuaded. Football was number one but he had also done athletics, basketball, volleyball and cricket.
Cueto is engaged to Suzie Richards, originally from Corby in Northamptonshire, who works in the Manchester United FC hospitality department. She gave birth to a baby boy called Max, their first child, on 6 August 2010. They live together in Altrincham. He is a graduate of Manchester Metropolitan University
.
against Bristol Shoguns
in 2001 and made the England tour to Argentina in 2002
, playing against Argentina A.
Cueto saw success at club level in his first five years at the club, winning the European Challenge Cup
twice, first in 2002 (then known as the Parker Pen Challenge Shield) when Sale beat Pontypridd
25–22 at the Kassam Stadium
on 26 May 2002. He was also part of the Sale team that beat Pau
, the champions in 2000, by 27 points to 3, also at the Kassam Stadium on May 21, 2005. Cueto scored a try
in the victory.
Cueto helped Sale Sharks to top the league in the 2005–06 season and carry that form through to win the season ending play-offs, beating Leicester Tigers
in the final, to become Premiership champions for the first time.
In May 2010, Ceuto was voted into Sale Shark's Hall of Fame. He played his 150th match for Sale in their 54–21 defeat to Leicester in late December 2010. A few days later, Cueto was appointed club captain by the new coach Pete Anglesea
; Anglesea replaced Mike Brewer as Sale had won just three out of nine matches in the 2010/11 season by mid-December. Cueto was Sale's sixth captain of the season. In April, Cueto was banned by the Rugby Football Union
for nine weeks after pleading guilty to "making contact with the eye or eye area". The incident involved Christian Day
and occurred in a match against Northampton on 2 April. At the start of the 2011/12 season, in August, Cueto was replaced as Sale captain, with Sam Tuitupou
taking over role.
in the 2000–01 World Sevens Series. Cueto appears alongside All Blacks
captain Richie McCaw
on the cover of the United Kingdom
version of the EA Sports
game Rugby 08
.
He was not selected for the full England squad during Clive Woodward
's reign as head coach, having to wait until November 2004 for his début against Canada
at Twickenham
, when he scored two tries.
In 2005, he was called up to the British and Irish Lions
for their New Zealand tour
after original selection Iain Balshaw
was ruled out due to injury. He featured in the third Test
at Eden Park, Auckland
.
Cueto was a prominent member of England's 2007 Rugby World Cup in France
. He started the first match of England's defence of the title at Full-back against the USA. He also played in England's embarrassing 36–0 defeat to South Africa
. Having been dropped for the next match against Samoa, he was installed to the English defence for the encounter with Tonga
, which ensured England's progression through to the quarter-final stage. He was left out of the surprise quarter-final victory against Australia
and the even more surprising semi-final victory over France
due to a niggling injury. During the semi-final, England wing Josh Lewsey
suffered a pulled hamstring and was forced to miss the final.
Cueto was selected to take his place for the 2007 final
against previous pool opponents, South Africa
. His participation in the match became memorable when he was denied a try in the second half of the match by Australian television match official Stuart Dickinson
. After a great deal of deliberation over real-time footage (and facing a language barrier with a French television producer who did not provide the stills he wanted) Dickinson disallowed the try on the basis of Cueto's left foot entering touch (touching the side-line) before the ball was grounded. This was not immediately obvious and Cueto's left leg was subsequently raised within the boundary of play, travelling over it after the ball was on the ground; this led many to believe the judgement had been wrongly made on the basis of the latter movement. A division of opinion still exists, although most experts including BBC Radio 5 Live
presenter Ian Robertson
subsequently backed Dickinson's decision.
He did not feature for England throughout 2008, but was recalled to the squad for the 2009 Six Nations
, scoring a try in the opening game against Italy
and in England's 34–10 victory over France
.
Cueto was a regular for England
throughout 2010 and 2011, and contributed to England's
successful 2011 Six Nations
campaign. Cueto won his 50th cap for England
in the final match of the Six Nations
against Ireland
. Mr Cueto missed the first 2 games of the 2011 Rugby World cup in New Zealand due to a back injury, but completed a hat-trick of tries when returning to the starting line up against Romania.
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
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. He plays on the wing 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 England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
.
Biography
He owes his surname to a Spanish great-grandfather Antonio, who sailed from SantanderSantander, Cantabria
The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 .-History:...
in the 1900s and settled in Maryport, Cumbria, where he set up a fish-and-chip shop. His Cumbrian home town of Workington
Workington
Workington is a town, civil parish and port on the west coast of Cumbria, England, at the mouth of the River Derwent. Lying within the Borough of Allerdale, Workington is southwest of Carlisle, west of Cockermouth, and southwest of Maryport...
is in an area more associated with rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
than union. Although he played his first rugby game as an eight-year-old in Workington
Workington
Workington is a town, civil parish and port on the west coast of Cumbria, England, at the mouth of the River Derwent. Lying within the Borough of Allerdale, Workington is southwest of Carlisle, west of Cockermouth, and southwest of Maryport...
, and played after he moved with his parents to Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, he did not grow up playing the game. When he was 10 years old, his parents moved again to Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
, where he took up football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
instead of rugby, becoming a keen Manchester United fan. He did not play rugby again until he was 17. His early club was Altrincham Kersal.
Then, when he was 17 and in his final A-level year at Alsager Comprehensive
Alsager School
Alsager School is a Business and Enterprise College. In September 2009 Alsager School became a Foundation School as it joined the Alsager Community Trust...
, there was the annual rugby match against Holmes Chapel. It was an occasion of no great importance. Holmes Chapel had a reasonable team, but rugby players were thin on the ground at Alsager and there was not much debate about the likely result. To make up a team, Alsager teacher Lindsay Purcell recruited a number of footballers. Cueto was one of those press-ganged into service, though when it came to sport he was easily persuaded. Football was number one but he had also done athletics, basketball, volleyball and cricket.
Cueto is engaged to Suzie Richards, originally from Corby in Northamptonshire, who works in the Manchester United FC hospitality department. She gave birth to a baby boy called Max, their first child, on 6 August 2010. They live together in Altrincham. He is a graduate of Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
.
Sale Sharks
Cueto made his début for Sale SharksSale 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...
against Bristol Shoguns
Bristol Rugby
Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...
in 2001 and made the England tour to Argentina in 2002
2002 England rugby union tour of Argentina
-Matches:-Forwards:...
, playing against Argentina A.
Cueto saw success at club level in his first five years at the club, winning the European Challenge Cup
European Challenge Cup
The European Challenge Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Amlin Challenge Cup, is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup. The cup was known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003 to 2005. The European...
twice, first in 2002 (then known as the Parker Pen Challenge Shield) when Sale beat Pontypridd
Pontypridd RFC
Pontypridd Rugby Football Club, known as Ponty, are a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, currently playing in the British and Irish Cup, Principality Premiership, and are the current SWALEC Cup champions....
25–22 at the Kassam Stadium
Kassam Stadium
The Kassam Stadium is the home of Oxford United Football Club, and is named after the ground's owner, and former chairman of the club, Firoz Kassam....
on 26 May 2002. He was also part of the Sale team that beat Pau
Section Paloise
Section Paloise is a French rugby union club from Pau in Pyrénées-Atlantiques currently competing in Rugby Pro D2, the second level of the French league system.-History:...
, the champions in 2000, by 27 points to 3, also at the Kassam Stadium on May 21, 2005. Cueto scored a try
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
in the victory.
Cueto helped Sale Sharks to top the league in the 2005–06 season and carry that form through to win the season ending play-offs, beating Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
in the final, to become Premiership champions for the first time.
In May 2010, Ceuto was voted into Sale Shark's Hall of Fame. He played his 150th match for Sale in their 54–21 defeat to Leicester in late December 2010. A few days later, Cueto was appointed club captain by the new coach Pete Anglesea
Pete Anglesea
Peter Anglesea was a rugby union footballer who played back row and second for the Sale Sharks. Regarded as a genuine Sale legend when forced to retire through injury in 2006, he first took a role within the community team at Sale and is now part of the coaching set up...
; Anglesea replaced Mike Brewer as Sale had won just three out of nine matches in the 2010/11 season by mid-December. Cueto was Sale's sixth captain of the season. In April, Cueto was banned by the Rugby Football Union
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
for nine weeks after pleading guilty to "making contact with the eye or eye area". The incident involved Christian Day
Christian Day
Christian Day is a rugby union player for Northampton Saints in the Aviva Premiership. Day previously played all of his professional career at Sale except for a 3 month temporary contract at French giants Stade Français.He previously captained England Under 21s and also has represented England at...
and occurred in a match against Northampton on 2 April. At the start of the 2011/12 season, in August, Cueto was replaced as Sale captain, with Sam Tuitupou
Sam Tuitupou
Sam Tuitupou is a New Zealand international rugby union player who plays for Sale in the Aviva Premiership. His position is Inside Centre....
taking over role.
International career
Cueto represented EnglandEngland national rugby union team (sevens)
The English national rugby union sevens team compete in the World Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-Honours:* 1973 International Seven-A-Side Tournament - Winners* Rugby World Cup Sevens Winners 1993* Hong Kong Sevens Winners 2002* Hong Kong Sevens Winners 2003*...
in the 2000–01 World Sevens Series. Cueto appears alongside All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
captain Richie McCaw
Richie McCaw
Richard Hugh "Richie" McCaw is a New Zealand rugby union player, and is the current test captain. He plays in the openside flanker position for the New Zealand, Crusaders and Canterbury rugby teams...
on the cover of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
version of the EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
game Rugby 08
Rugby 08
Rugby 08 is the 2007 release in the Rugby series by EA Sports. The game allows players to play as many Rugby nations, both major and minor, and includes many tournaments, such as the Rugby World Cup, Tri Nations, Six Nations, Guinness Premiership and Super 14.Rugby 08 was released prior to the...
.
He was not selected for the full England squad during Clive Woodward
Clive Woodward
Sir Clive Ronald Woodward OBE is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He is currently the British Olympic Association's Director of Elite Performance.-Early life:Woodward was born in Ely...
's reign as head coach, having to wait until November 2004 for his début against Canada
Canada national rugby union team
The Canada national rugby union team represents Canada in international rugby union. They are governed by Rugby Canada, and play in red and black. Canada is classified by the International Rugby Board as a tier two rugby nation. There are ten tier one nations, and seven tier two nations, the...
at Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
, when he scored two tries.
In 2005, he was called up to the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
for their New Zealand tour
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...
after original selection Iain Balshaw
Iain Balshaw
Iain Robert Balshaw, MBE is a rugby footballer who plays on the wing or at full back for Biarritz.-Early life:...
was ruled out due to injury. He featured in the third Test
Test match (rugby union)
Test match in rugby union is a match recognised as being a full international match by at least one of the participating teams' governing bodies. It is an unofficial but widely used term in the sport....
at Eden Park, Auckland
Eden Park
Eden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable...
.
Cueto was a prominent member of England's 2007 Rugby World Cup in France
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
. He started the first match of England's defence of the title at Full-back against the USA. He also played in England's embarrassing 36–0 defeat to South Africa
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
. Having been dropped for the next match against Samoa, he was installed to the English defence for the encounter with Tonga
Tonga national rugby union team
The Tonga national rugby union team is nicknamed Ikale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a war dance – the Kailao . They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance along with Fiji and Samoa...
, which ensured England's progression through to the quarter-final stage. He was left out of the surprise quarter-final victory against Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
and the even more surprising semi-final victory over France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
due to a niggling injury. During the semi-final, England wing Josh Lewsey
Josh Lewsey
Owen Joshua Lewsey MBE is a former English rugby union footballer who played fullback, wing or centre for Wasps.-Career:...
suffered a pulled hamstring and was forced to miss the final.
Cueto was selected to take his place for the 2007 final
2007 Rugby World Cup Final
The 2007 Rugby World Cup Final was a rugby union match, played on Saturday, 20 October 2007 at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis, Paris. The match determined the winner of the 2007 Rugby World Cup and the de facto world champions for the next four years...
against previous pool opponents, South Africa
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
. His participation in the match became memorable when he was denied a try in the second half of the match by Australian television match official Stuart Dickinson
Stuart Dickinson
Stuart Dickinson is a former Australian rugby referee. He made his international refereeing debut in 1997 in a Rugby World Cup qualifier between Tahiti and Papua New Guinea....
. After a great deal of deliberation over real-time footage (and facing a language barrier with a French television producer who did not provide the stills he wanted) Dickinson disallowed the try on the basis of Cueto's left foot entering touch (touching the side-line) before the ball was grounded. This was not immediately obvious and Cueto's left leg was subsequently raised within the boundary of play, travelling over it after the ball was on the ground; this led many to believe the judgement had been wrongly made on the basis of the latter movement. A division of opinion still exists, although most experts including BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
presenter Ian Robertson
Ian Robertson (rugby commentator)
Ian Robertson is a Scottish-born broadcaster, writer and former international rugby player. He is best known as a rugby union commentator for BBC Radio.-Early life:...
subsequently backed Dickinson's decision.
He did not feature for England throughout 2008, but was recalled to the squad for the 2009 Six Nations
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...
, scoring a try in the opening game against Italy
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
and in England's 34–10 victory over France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
.
Cueto was a regular for England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
throughout 2010 and 2011, and contributed to England's
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
successful 2011 Six Nations
2011 Six Nations Championship
The 2011 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2011 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 12th series of the Six Nations Championship. The annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship was contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy,...
campaign. Cueto won his 50th cap for England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
in the final match of the Six Nations
2011 Six Nations Championship
The 2011 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2011 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 12th series of the Six Nations Championship. The annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship was contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy,...
against Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
. Mr Cueto missed the first 2 games of the 2011 Rugby World cup in New Zealand due to a back injury, but completed a hat-trick of tries when returning to the starting line up against Romania.