Steffon Armitage

Steffon Armitage
Full name Steffon Elvis Armitage
Date of birth (1985-09-20) 20 September 1985
Place of birth San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 106 kg (16 st 10 lb)
School Ivybridge Community College
Notable relative(s) Delon Armitage
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position Number 8, Openside Flanker
Youth clubs
Richmond
Racing Rugby Club de Nice
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2004–2006
2006–2011
2011–		 Saracens
London Irish
Toulon		 5
134
129		 (15)
(135)
(120)
correct as of 9 May 2015.
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2008–
2009–		 England A
England
5
(0)
Sevens national teams
Years Club / team Comps
England

Steffon Armitage (born 20 September 1985 in San Fernando, Trinidad) is an English professional rugby union player for RC Toulon in the Top 14.

Career

Born in San Fernando, Trinidad in 1985,[1] Armitage grew up in the south of France, where he and his brothers played for Rugby Nice Côte d'Azur Université-Racing.

Armitage began his professional rugby career at Saracens, before signing for London Irish in 2006.[1] Armitage started for London Irish in the 2009 Premiership final against Leicester Tigers, which the Tigers won 10-9.[2]

At international level, Armitage was a member of the England Saxons squad that won the 2008 Churchill Cup.[3] On 1 July 2008 he was selected to represent the England Saxons again.[4] Armitage was called up for the England elite squad ahead of the 2009 Six Nations Championship to replace the injured Lewis Moody,[5] making his full international debut in England's 36-11 win against Italy in the opening game.[6] He started both matches in England's drawn two test series against Argentina in June 2009.[7] Armitage would go on to win two further England caps in the 2010 Six Nations, coming off the bench in England's wins over Wales and Italy.[8][9]

In May 2011, Armitage was granted an early release from his contract with London Irish to allow him to join French club RC Toulon.[10] In his his first season in France, Armitage scored 7 tries in 27 matches. Armitage was in the starting 15 for 23 matches, and a substitute in 4.[11][12] During this season, Armitage played for Toulon in the finals of the Top 14 and the Amlin Challenge Cup.[13]

In July 2012, Armitage was provisionally suspended for abnormal drug test results.,[14] but was cleared to play all the games of the new season with Toulon, both in the Top 14 and Heineken Cup. In November, Armitage was cleared of the doping charge.[15] On 19 November, Armitage was designated as best foreign player in the Top 14 by the Oscars of Midi Olympique (French Rugby Newspaper). In May 2013 he played as a replacement as Toulon won the 2013 Heineken Cup Final by 16–15 against Clermont Auvergne.[16]

Armitage won a second Heineken Cup with Toulon playing against Saracens in May 2014.[17] On 26 May 2014, it was announced that Armitage had been named 2013–14 ERC European Player of the Year.[18][19] In that same year, Armitage was part of the Toulon side that beat Castres to win the Top 14 title.[20]

In 2015, Armitage won a third European title with RC Toulon,[21] and was again on the shortlist for European player of the year, losing out narrowly to Nick Abendanon who plays for Clermont Auvergne, the team Toulon defeated in the final.

Armitage can play as a Number 8 or Openside Flanker. He is known for his strength, speed and his effectiveness in ruck turnovers. Armitage has been considered to be one of the best players in the world due to his technical ability at the breakdown and his capacity to win a high number of turnovers each game. Given the English national team's lack of players with Armitage's skill set, many experts have argued that the 'exceptional circumstances' clause in England's policy banning overseas based players should be invoked to allow the triple European Championship winner to represent England, despite playing his club rugby at Toulon.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]

References

  1. 1 2 "Steffon Armitage | Rugby Union | Players and Officials | ESPN Scrum". En.espn.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  2. ↑ Palmer, Bryn (2009-05-16). "BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | English | Leicester 10-9 London Irish". BBC News. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  3. ↑ "England Saxons put Scots to sword to retain Barclays Churchill Cup". RFU. 21 June 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  4. ↑ "Tindall left out of England squad". BBC. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  5. ↑ "Armitage replaces injured Moody". BBC. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  6. ↑ "England 36–11 Italy". BBC. 7 February 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  7. ↑ "Argentina 24–22 England". BBC. 13 June 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  8. ↑ "BBC Sport - Rugby Union - Chris Ashton & Shontayne Hape win England squad calls". BBC News. 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  9. ↑ "Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - Statsguru - Player analysis - Steffon Armitage - Test matches". En.espn.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  10. ↑ "Steffon Armitage to leave London Irish for Toulon - BBC Sport". Bbc.com. 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  11. ↑ "Steffon Armitage designated as best foreign player". Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  12. ↑ "Steffon Armitage Profile". Itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  13. ↑ "Steffon Elvis ARMITAGE - RCT - Rugby Club Toulonnais". Rctoulon.com. 1985-09-20. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  14. ↑ "Steffon Armitage provisionally suspended after drug test result". Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  15. ↑ "Steffon Armitage cleared of doping charge by French Rugby". Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  16. ↑ "Toulon claim Heineken Cup glory". ESPN. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  17. ↑ Paul Rees. "Toulon and superb Jonny Wilkinson crush Saracens in Heineken Cup final | Sport". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  18. ↑ "Steffon Armitage named ERC European Player of the Year". BBC. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  19. ↑ "Steffon Armitage of Heineken Cup champions, RC Toulon, has been named ERC European Player of the Year 2014.". ERC. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  20. ↑ "Jonny Wilkinson ends career with Toulon victory in Top 14 final - BBC Sport". Bbc.com. 2014-06-01. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  21. ↑ Cole, Rob (2015-05-02). "REPORT: Toulon make history with three in a row : European Rugby Champions Cup (EPCR)". Epcrugby.com. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  22. ↑ "SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: England must lift ban and pick Steffon Armitage". Dailymail.co.uk. 2014-05-25. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  23. ↑ "Eddie Jones: Steffon Armitage should have been called upon". Irishtimes.com. 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  24. ↑ "Steffon Armitage's form for Toulon is so good it is crying out for England overseas rule to be broken - just this once". Telegraph. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  25. ↑ "Stuart Lancaster and England should find a way to select Steffon Armitage | Robert Kitson | Sport". The Guardian. 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  26. ↑ McLeman, Neil (2015-10-04). "Toulon coach Bernard Laporte SLAMS England selection policy after World Cup elimination - Mirror Online". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  27. ↑ "Jeremy Guscott: Stuart Lancaster must not bow to PRL double-standards". The Rugby Paper. 2015-05-06. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  28. ↑ Eddie Butler. "Toulon’s Steffon Armitage adds yet more mystery to his England exile | Eddie Butler | Sport". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  29. ↑ "Stuart Barnes: England cannot afford to overlook Steffon Armitage | Rugby Union News". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2015-11-12.

External links

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