Dan Biggar

Dan Biggar
Birth name Daniel Rhys Biggar
Date of birth (1989-10-16) 16 October 1989
Place of birth Swansea, Wales
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 93 kg (14.6 st; 205 lb)
School Gowerton Comprehensive School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half, Scrum-Half
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2007–2008
2018–		 Swansea
Northampton Saints		 13
0		 (129)
(0)
Correct as of 6 May 2008
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
2007–2018 Ospreys 210 (2,116)
Correct as of 28 October 2017
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)

2008
2008–present
2017		 Wales U16
Wales U20
Wales
British and Irish Lions
9
62
0
(37)
(295)
(0)
Correct as of 17 March 2018

Daniel Biggar (born 16 October 1989) is a Welsh international rugby union outside-half who plays club rugby for the Northampton Saints. He became the youngest player to reach 100 games for his former club, the Ospreys.[1] On 7 December 2015, Biggar won the BBC Cymru Sports Personality of the Year Award.[2]

Career

Biggar was born in Morriston, Swansea. He was a Wales age grades international, including Under-20. In October 2008 he was selected for the Wales national rugby union team squad for the 2008 Autumn Internationals series, making his debut at the age of 19 against Canada on 18 November.

On 18 January 2010, he was named in the 35-man Wales national squad for the 2010 Six Nations tournament.[3]

After 18 months in the wilderness, including missing the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Biggar was recalled for the 2012 Welsh squad after a run of good form with the Ospreys. This form was topped off by the match-winning conversion from the touchline in the 2012 Pro12 Grand Final, as well as a number of man-of-the-match performances in the run-in at the end of the season. Biggar finally got his chance in the Welsh number 10 shirt in the victorious 2013 Six Nations Championship campaign, starting all five games at fly half, thanks to a Rhys Priestland injury. Biggar capped off the tournament with a drop goal, conversion and penalty in the Championship decider against England.

Biggar continued his good run of form into the 2013–14 season, his performances for the Ospreys earning him a call-up for the 2013 Autumn Internationals, in which he started against Australia and Argentina, scoring a try against the former. He played three games during the 2014 Six Nations, coming on as a substitute for Rhys Priestland against France and England and starting against Scotland. In June 2014 Biggar started two tests against South Africa, including in the narrow 31–30-second test defeat, despite being yellow-carded. Biggar cemented his place as the Wales starting fly-half during the 2014 Autumn Internationals, starting three out of the four tests. He received many plaudits for his world-class performances, as well as receiving the man-of-the-match award against South Africa in a 12–6 victory.[4]

Biggar starred in all of Wales' 2015 Six Nations Championship matches, and scored his first Welsh try vs France.

In the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Biggar took over the kicking duties after Halfpenny was ruled out of the whole tournament. Biggar kicked 56 points during the tournament including 23 points in Wales' 28–25 win over England, and claimed the Man of the Match accolade. In the quarter-final, he converted Gareth Davies' try against South Africa. Despite this, Wales would go on to lose 23–19.

Biggar has his own routine before kicking goals, which fans now call "The Biggarena" after Los Del Rio's 1995 hit, Macarena.[5]

In September 2017, English Premiership side Northampton Saints announced that they had signed Biggar for the 2018–19 season. The length of Biggar's contract with Saints in currently undisclosed.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Youngest Osprey to achieve 100 caps".
  2. ↑ "BBC Wales Sports Personality 2015: Dan Biggar wins top award". 7 December 2015 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  3. ↑ "Wales 2010 Six Nations Squad". BBC Sport.
  4. ↑ "Wales 12–6 South Africa: Howley hails 'outstanding' Dan Biggar". BBC Sport.
  5. ↑ Edwards, Tom (29 September 2015). "'The Biggarena!' Wales fly-half's pre-kick dance becomes minor internet sensation". Telegraph UK. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "Dan Biggar: Northampton Saints sign Wales and Ospreys fly-half for 2018–19 season". BBC Sport. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
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