Tyson Keats

Tyson Keats (born 6 June 1981) is a New Zealand rugby union player who last played for London Welsh in the English Premiership. His position of choice is halfback, his contributions intangible.

Tyson Keats
Full nameTyson Paul Keats
Date of birth (1981-06-06) 6 June 1981
Place of birthChristchurch, New Zealand
Height175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight85 kg (187 lb; 13 st 5 lb)
SchoolShirley Boys' High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Half-back
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2003 Nelson Bays 10 (30)
2006–2009 Canterbury 31 (25)
2009 Crusaders 3 (0)
2010–2011 Hurricanes 21 (20)
2010–2011 Taranaki 21 (15)
2011–2012 Aironi 20 (0)
2012–2014 London Welsh 20 (5)
Correct as of 23 May 2020

Keats is currently playing club rugby for the New Brighton club in Christchurch, New Zealand.[1]

He previously played for Italian club Aironi, Nelson Bays, Taranaki and Canterbury in the ITM Cup. Keats also played in the Super Rugby competition representing the Hurricanes and the Crusaders respectively.

Controversy

In 2013 Keats was part of a frustrating problem involving his passport which resulted in London Welsh being relegated. Keats described it as "the toughest time of his career".

In March 2013 the club were found guilty of playing Keats for 10 games illegally while he held a fake English passport. Thus, five league points were removed which killed their chances of survival in the Premiership. The club was also fined over $30,000 NZD.[2]

Former manager Mike Scott was found fully responsible and was banned from any participation in rugby for life.[3]

Upon moving from Aironi his agent asked Scott if Keats should return to New Zealand to sort out his visa but Scott assured it would be taken care of in England.

Keats found out he was Ineligible to play on the season opening match. The next week Keats was then told he was "fine" and it was all sorted.

Further investigation by the new manager discovered that Scott had incorrectly stated Keats was from Christchurch, Dorset apose to Christchurch in New Zealand. This was all amongst a rush to field Keats as soon as possible.[2][4]

Personal

While playing for Canterbury Keats owned an exterior plastering and painting business but when he made the move to the Hurricanes he was forced to sell it.[4]

References
  1. "New Brighton feature Tyson Keats". Stuff. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  2. "Tyson Keats: London Welsh re-sign registration row scrum-half". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  3. Rees, Paul (8 March 2013). "Mike Scott gets RFU life ban over faked copy of Tyson Keats' passport". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  4. "Tyson Keats EXCLUSIVE – I felt like a black sheep but it wasn't my fault | The Rugby Paper". www.therugbypaper.co.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.