Adam Westall
| Date of birth | 1 July 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Adam Westall (born 1981) is a current English rugby union player who plays at fly-half.[1][2] Although he is currently playing for Swindon in South West 1 East (level 6), Adam made his name while playing for Lydney where he broke the club's record for most points in a season, and along with a spell spent with Dings Crusaders, became one of the most prolific points scorers of all time in National League 2 South (2nd as of 2016).[3] He has also won the County Championship Shield twice with Dorset & Wilts.
Career
Lydney
After two seasons with Newbury, where he played a handful of games, Adam dropped down a division to National Division 3 South to join Gloucestershire-based side, Lydney, in 2002. The 2002–03 season with Lydney was arguably the best of his career as he scored 373 points to help Lydney secure second spot in the league and earn a second chance at promotion via the play-offs.[4] Having secured a home fixture by virtue of their superior league standings, Lydney went on to secure promotion by defeating National Division 3 North runners up, New Brighton, 21–7 at Regentshom, with Adam scoring 11 of those points including a try.[5] Along with 34 points attained from Lydney's adventures in the Powergen Cup, Adam would become the club's record scorer for a single season with 417 points.[6]
The next year would be a difficult one for Lydney as the promoted side struggled in National Division 2, only winning two games and ended up being relegated in bottom place. Despite playing for a relegated side Adam still managed to score 180 points (over half his team's final total) and finish 8th in the league's top scorer rankings.[7] Back in National Division 3 South for the following season, Adam was once again the top scorer in the division with 332 points including a career best of 17 tries as Lydney finished 4th.[8] The 2005–06 season was a disappointing one for Adam personally as he only managed 9 games in an injury hit season. With 133 points from those 9 games it is likely he would have finished the league's top scorer if had managed to get a full season under his belt. Returning from injury, both Adam and Lydney would have several more satisfactory seasons, finishing in the top half of the table and Adam finishing as one of the division's top 10 scorers each year.
Dings Crusaders
In 2008 Adam signed for Bristol-based club, Dings Crusaders, who were in the same division as his former side.[9] He played most of Ding's games in the 2008–09 season as the club finished 6th, and scored a respectable 204 points. The following season, despite playing eight games for Dings he decided to move part-way through the season to join little heralded Swindon, who were playing in Southern Counties North – three divisions lower.
Swindon / Dorset and Wilts
While at Swindon, Adam was called up for Dorset & Wilts for the 2010 County Championships where Dorset & Wilts were taking part in the Shield competition. It was a momentous occasion for his new county side as they reached the final held at Twickenham Stadium, winning the competition for the first time in their history with Adam scoring 11 points in the 36–26 victory over Leicestershire.[10] The 2010–11 season was even more successful as not only did Adam help his club side Swindon win promotion as champions of Southern Counties North but he also helped Dorset & Wilts win their second successive County Championship Shield with 18 points in the 43–22 win over Surrey.[11][12] Over the past years with Swindon, Adam has become club captain (up until 2016) as they have become a regular fixture in South West 1 East.[13]
Season-by-season playing stats
| Season | Club | Competition | Appearances | Tries | Drop Goals | Conversions | Penalties | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | Newbury | National Division 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2001–02 | National Division 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2002–03 | Lydney | National Division 3 South | 26 | 14 | 0 | 48 | 69 | 373 |
| Powergen Cup | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 34 | ||
| National 3 promotion play-off | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 2003–04 | National Division 2 | 25 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 41 | 180 | |
| Powergen Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 23 | ||
| 2004–05 | National Division 3 South | 26 | 17 | 0 | 62 | 41 | 332 | |
| Powergen Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | ||
| 2005–06 | National Division 3 South | 9 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 30 | 133 | |
| EDF Energy Trophy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 46 | ||
| 2006–07 | National Division 3 South | 25 | 9 | 0 | 22 | 15 | 134 | |
| EDF Energy Trophy | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 30 | ||
| 2007–08 | National Division 3 South | 14 | 6 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 127 | |
| EDF Energy Trophy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 31 | ||
| 2008–09 | Dings Crusaders | National Division 3 South | 22 | 4 | 1 | 35 | 37 | 204 |
| EDF Energy Trophy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 36 | ||
| 2009–10 | National League 2 South | 8 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 11 | 65 | |
| Swindon | Southern Counties North | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| 2010–11 | Southern Counties North | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| 2011–12 | South West 1 East | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| 2012–13 | South West 1 East | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| 2013–14 | South West 1 East | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| 2014–15 | South West 1 East | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| 2015–16 | South West 1 East | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
Honours and records
Lydney
- National 3 promotion play-offs winners: 2002–03
- National Division 3 South top points scorer (2): 2002–03 (373 points), 2004–05 (332 points)
- National Division 3 South most points in a match: 45, away to Haywards Heath on 12 March 2005 (2004–05)[15]
- Club record most points in a season: 418 (2002–03)[6]
Swindon
- Southern Counties North champions: 2010–11
Dorset & Wilts
- County Championship Shield winners (2): 2010, 2011[10][12]
References
- ↑ "Adam Westall". Site 2 Corp. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
- ↑ "Adam Westall". Swindon RFC. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
- ↑ "National Two South All time leading top scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 30 April 2016.
- ↑ "National Three South 02/03 Leading top scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 12 April 2003.
- ↑ "National League Playoffs 2002–03". englandrugby.com. 26 April 2003.
- 1 2 "Lydney RFC Club Records". Lydney RFC. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
- ↑ "Final League Tables – 2003/04 Season". Moseley Rugby. 24 April 2004.
- ↑ "National Three South 04/05 Leading top scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 23 April 2005.
- ↑ "The in's and out's in N3S in full". Rolling Maul. 5 September 2008.
- 1 2 "Dorset & Wilts seal historic victory at Twickenham". BBC Sport. 1 June 2010.
- ↑ "Southern Counties North". England Rugby. 30 April 2011.
- 1 2 "Dorset & Wilts retain County Championship Shield". BBC Sport. 29 May 2011.
- ↑ "Swindon skipper Adam Westall to step down from role". Swindon Advertiser. 27 April 2016.
- ↑ "Adam Westall Record by competition". Rugby Statbunker. 23 April 2016.
- ↑ "National Three South 04/05 Most points in a match (Player)". Rugby Statbunker. 23 April 2005.