Dave Ward (rugby union)

David Patrick Ward (born 21 May 1985) is an English rugby union player for Premiership side Harlequins, and Head Coach of Guildford Rugby Club. A hooker, Ward has previously played for Sale Sharks, Northampton Saints, Bath Rugby and the Cornish Pirates. At international level he has represented the England under-18s, under-21s and Saxons.

Dave Ward
Ward in action for Harlequins in 2013
Birth nameDavid Patrick Ward[1]
Date of birth (1985-05-21) 21 May 1985[2]
Place of birthBath, England
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Weight100 kg (15 st 10 lb; 220 lb)[2]
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker/Flanker
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2004–2007
2007–2008
2008–2009
2009–2012
2012-2019
2019-		 Bath Rugby
Northampton Saints
Sale Sharks
Cornish Pirates
Harlequins
Ampthill		 8
6
3
110
100		 (0)
(20)
(0)
(120)
(45)
Correct as of 13:47, 26 June 2014 (UTC)
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)


2014–		 England U18
England U21
England Saxons

2

(0)
Correct as of 13:47, 26 June 2014 (UTC)

Club career

Born in Bath,[2] Ward joined his local club Bath Rugby as a six-year-old,[3] progressing all the way through to the first team for whom he made his debut as a replacement in the Heineken Cup against Treviso in December 2004.[4] His first start came a month later against Leinster Rugby and despite Bath losing, he was named as the Man of the Match.[5] He made just six more appearances for the club over the next two years,[6] and, after finding himself as fourth choice hooker,[3] joined Northampton Saints on a two-year contract in 2007.[7]

He made six appearances for Saints in their 2007–08 promotion winning season, scoring four tries,[8] but was released from his contract by the club a year early in October 2008. Days later he joined Sale Sharks,[9] though he again failed to secure regular playing time, making just three appearances during the 2008–09 season.[10] During his time with Sale the club received a one-point deduction after he came off the bench against Harlequins prior to being re-registered following a loan spell at Manchester.[11]

He time at Sale was hampered by injury and after only one season, Ward joined Championship club Cornish Pirates in Summer 2009.[12] He turned down a part-time contract from Pertemps Bees alongside a sales job in favour of the Pirates and later revealed that he had contemplated retirement prior to the move.[13][14] He made his competitive debut against Nottingham in September 2009 and went on to make 33 appearances in his first season.[15] He was ever-present in the two following years, racking up 110 appearances in his three years at the club.[12]

In April 2012 he returned to the Premiership after signing a contract with Harlequins for the 2012–13 season.[16] His first season at The Stoop followed a similar pattern to his spells with Bath, Saints and Sale, with Ward making only seven appearances, five of which came in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.[2] His Premiership breakthrough came in 2013–14 at the age of 28 where, following injuries to regular hookers Joe Gray and Rob Buchanan, he made 31 appearances, including his first Premiership start for seven years.[17] Over the course of the campaign he earned five Man of the Match awards and was voted the Players' Player of the Season.[2]

International career

Ward first represented England at under-18 and under-21 level.[12] In January 2014 he was rewarded for his club form with a call up to the England Saxons squad for two games against Scotland the Ireland Wolfhounds.[18] He started the first game which ended in a 16–16 draw and came off the bench as the second ended in a 14–8 defeat.[19][20] Four months later he was included in England's senior squad for the three Test summer tour of New Zealand.[21] Though he was not included in the matchday 23 for any of the Tests, he was a second-half replacement in the tour game against the Crusaders which England won 38–7.[22]

Personal life

In August 2020 Ward married Harlequins and England player Abbie Scott.[23]

References
  1. "Dave Ward". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  2. "Dave Ward". Harlequin F.C. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  3. "20 Questions: Dave Ward – Harlequins hooker". The Rugby Paper. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  4. Bates, Rupert (12 December 2004). "Depleted Bath restore pride lost in Italy". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  5. Rumbles, Dom (8 January 2005). "Heartbreak for battling Bath". Bath Rugby. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  6. "Dave Ward". It's Rugby. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  7. "Saints bag a pair of Hookers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  8. "Hooker Ward seals switch to Sale". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  9. "Dave Ward signs for Sale Sharks". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  10. "Dave Ward". Sale Sharks. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  11. "Sale Sharks vow to fight one-point deduction". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  12. "Dave Ward – Hooker". Cornish Pirates. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  13. Kitson, Robert (9 May 2014). "Dave Ward ready to complete a full circle in Harlequins' play-off quest". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  14. Sobey, Bill; Raine, Sara (30 January 2014). "Former Cornish Pirates hooker Ward grateful to his old club for Saxons chance". Western Morning News. Plymouth. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  15. "Nottingham 13–24 Cornish Pirates". Cornish Pirates. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  16. "Dave Ward to join Harlequins". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  17. "Ward aiming to be Quins regular". MSN Sport. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  18. Amos, Stuart (24 January 2014). "Re-Ward for Quin Dave is an England Saxons call-up". Richmond & Twickenham Times. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  19. "England Saxons and Scotland A play out draw in Glasgow". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  20. "England Saxons 8–14 Ireland Wolfhounds". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  21. "England new boys Dave Ward and Chris Pennell relishing NZ tour". Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  22. Kitson, Robert (17 June 2014). "England beat Crusaders 38–7 in New Zealand tour match". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  23. Macpherson, Will (9 October 2020). "Harlequins 'eager and excited' for return of new-look Premier 15s, says Abbie Ward". Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
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