Christian Wade
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| Date of birth | 15 May 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Slough, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 86 kg (13 st 8 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Royal Grammar School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | St Mary's University College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Christian Wade (born 15 May 1991) is an English rugby union player who plays as a wing.[1] He is known for his speed, acceleration, footballing skills and agility which enable him to move through groups of opposing players and around individuals. He has scored over 80 tries in the English Premiership, ranked third in career tries.
Early life
Raised in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Wade attended Hamilton Primary School and Royal Grammar School.[2] He initially was not interested in rugby but picked up the sport as it was the RGS's primary sport.[3] He represented England U16 A, England U18 and England U20 and also Wasps at the Middlesex Sevens as a schoolboy. A former district and English Schools athlete, Wade ran a time of 10.8 seconds over the 100m distance at the age of 16. He was trained by the former English sprinter Julian Golding.[4]
After finishing school, Wade studied Sport Science and Psychology at St Mary's University College in Twickenham while playing the Wasps' academy side and then senior team. As of 14/02/2017, he has a 0.623 tries per game ratio for Wasps with 76 tries in 122 matches. For the England Saxons, Wade has a 1.5 tries per game ratio, scoring 9 tries in 6 matches.
Club career
Wade made his debut for Wasps in Abu Dhabi on the 30/01/2011 against Harlequins by replacing Jack Wallace in the 48th minute of the 13-38 defeat in the 2010-2011 Season. He made 3 further appearances that season scoring one try against Exeter Chiefs.
Wade had a strong 2011/12 season, when despite missing three months with injury, he finished the season as the second highest try scorer in the Premiership with nine in 15 games. The season ended on a high for Wade with selection for England Rugby's tour in South Africa. He scored against the famous Barbarians as a replacement, and set up a try for Jonathan Joseph. He finished the England Tour as the top try scorer with 4 tries after scoring a hatrick.
| Opposition | Points Scored |
|---|---|
| Saracens | 5 |
| Leicester Tigers | 15 |
| Newcastle Falcons | 5 |
| Bath Rugby | 5 |
| Union Bordeaux-Begles | 15 |
| London Irish | 5 |
| Biarritz Olympique PB | 5 |
| Harlequins | 5 |
| Newcastle Falcons | 5 |
| Barbarians | 5 |
| SA Barbarians | 15 |
At the end of the 2012/13 season, Wade was named both the Players' Player of the Year and the Young Player of the Year after a good season for Wasps. He finished level with Wasps team-mate Tom Varndell as the Premiership's joint leading try-scorer with 13. He also scored 5 tries in the 2012–13 European Challenge Cup. He scored 18 tries in 26 appearances in that season.[5]
Wade was rewarded for his form and was called up into the England senior squad and the British and Irish Lions squad - a huge accolade.[6]
| Opposition | Points scored |
|---|---|
| Harlequins | 10 |
| Bath Rugby | 5 |
| Mogliano Rugby | 10 |
| London Welsh | 10 |
| Aviron Bayonnais | 5 |
| Bath Rugby | 5 |
| Harlequins | 5 |
| Gloucester Rugby | 5 |
| London Irish | 5 |
| Saracens | 5 |
| Leinster | 10 |
| Exeter Chiefs | 5 |
| Sale Sharks | 10 |
| Barbarians | 5 |
The 2013/2014 season was disappointing for the youngster after such a successful summer. Wade made 10 appearances and scored five tries before an injury against London Irish in November ended his season. He has a 84% tackle success rate for wasps in this season,making 542m in his 10 appearances.
| Opposition | Points Scored |
|---|---|
| Exeter Chiefs | 5 |
| Worcester Warriors | 5 |
| Leicester Tigers | 5 |
| Gloucester Rugby | 10 |
After eight months of rehabilitation, the flying winger made his return against Saracens scoring 2 tries in defeat.[7] He then went on to score 12 more tries in the next 21 games. He scored against the Irish Wolfhounds in cork after replacing Chris Ashton with his second touch of the ball.[8] Despite constant calls from fans and media alike, Wade remained in the Saxons squad and was not called up to the Elite Playing Sqauad.
| Opposition | Points Scored |
|---|---|
| Saracens | 10 |
| Sale Sharks | 5 |
| Leinster | 5 |
| London Welsh | 15 |
| Gloucester | 5 |
| Harlequins | 5 |
| Saracens | 5 |
| Northampton | 15 |
| Exeter | 5 |
| Irish Wolfhounds | 5 |
| Barbarians | 15 |
On 16 April 2016, Wade equalled the Premiership record by scoring six tries in one match against Worcester. 2015/16 Season Wasps Season Points:
| Opposition | Points Scored |
|---|---|
| Worcestor | 5 |
| Samoa | 5 |
| Northampton | 5 |
| Gloucester | 5 |
| Leinster | 5 |
| Harlequins | 5 |
| Gloucester | 5 |
| Sale Sharks | 15 |
| Leicester | 5 |
| Worcester | 30 |
| London Irish | 5 |
International
Sevens
He made his international sevens debut at the IRB Sevens World Series in Dubai in December 2009 and he scored 7 tries in George a week later, finishing joint top try scorer with Fijian wizard, William Ryder. He added 2 more in Wellington and 3 more tries in Las Vegas a week later. He scored 3 in London. Overall, he amassed 22 tries in 7 tournaments in the 2009–10 Series, which made him the 15th highest individual try scorer that season. Wade was selected for the 17-man initial England rugby sevens training squad for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
U20s
He was part of the England U20 side at the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship in Argentina, which finished 4th overall, losing to South Africa in the 3rd–4th place play-offs. He scored one try against Argentina in the tournament, which was won by 2009 winners New Zealand. On 31 May 2012, Wade made his international debut for England against the Barbarians, starting at number 11 and scoring one try while setting up Jonathan Joseph in the last play of the game with some elusive footwork, although this game was uncapped. England went on to win the game 57–26.
Senior Team and Lions
He was selected for the England summer tour to Argentina, Wade scored in a warm up game against the Barbarians winning 40–12. He made his full test debut against Argentina on 8 June on the right wing playing the whole 80 minutes. Wade was selected for the second game against Argentina the following week but withdrew from the team when he was called up to join the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia.[9] He made his Lions debut on the right wing against Australian Super Rugby side, The Brumbies.
Wade was initially selected to play against Argentina in the 2013 Autumn Internationals, however a slight hamstring tear meant he had to withdraw from the game. An injury in a club game at the beginning of December against London Irish meant he played no part in the 2014 Six Nations and the Summer Tour to New Zealand.
Wade was overlooked for the 2014 Internationals, but was selected for the England Saxons to play against the Irish Wolfhounds. Wade - as of January 2016 - has scored 8 tries for England in his past 4 matches (one off the bench for 10 minutes vs the Irish Wolfhounds). He was selected for the England Saxons to the Tour of South Africa.
International tries
| Try | Opposing team | Location | Venue | Competition | Date | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| † | Barbarians | London, England | Twickenham | Summer International | 27 May 2012 | Win | 57 – 26 [10] |
| ‡ x3 | South African Barbarians (South) | Kimberley, South Africa | Griquas Park | 2012 Tour of South Africa | 13 June 2012 | Win | 54 – 26 [11] |
| † | Barbarians | London, England | Twickenham | Summer International | 26 May 2013 | Win | 40 – 12 [12] |
| † | Ireland Wolfhounds | Cork, Ireland | Musgrave Park | 30 January 2015 | Win | 40 – 12 [13] | |
| † x3 | Barbarians | London, England | Twickenham | 30 January 2015 | Win |
† Full international cap not awarded for Barbarians Test match [10][12]
‡ Full international cap not awarded for South African Barbarians South Test match [11]
References
- ↑ "Christian Wade Player Profile". web page. Wasps. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ↑ "Christian Wade: Float like a butterfly, sting like a Wasp". The Independent. 5 November 2011.
- ↑ "Christian Wade: There's a place for a winger like me". The Guardian. 21 December 2012.
- ↑ "Stuart Lancaster says Wasps wing Christian Wade will have more opportunities for England". Daily Telegraph. 7 September 2012.
- ↑ wasps.co.uk
- ↑ "Lions 2013: Christian Wade & Brad Barritt drafted into squad". 15 June 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ "Premiership: Saracens 34-28 Wasps". 6 September 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ "England Saxons win away to Ireland Wolfhounds". 30 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ "Wade handed Lions call-up". espn.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
- 1 2 "England 57-26 Barbarians". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
- 1 2 "England unconvincing in win over SA Southern Barbarians". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
- 1 2 "England 40-12 Barbarians: Freddie Burns shines in win". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-18.
- ↑ "England Saxons win away to Ireland Wolfhounds". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-18.