Chris Wyles

Chris Wyles

Full name	Chris Wyles
Date of birth	13 September 1983
Place of birth	Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	93 kg (14 st 9 lb)[1]
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Fullback/Wing/Centre
Professional / senior clubs
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2004–2006 2006–2007 2008-present	Nottingham Northampton Saints Saracens	40 9 210	(105) (15) (280)
correct as of 19 October 2016.
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2007-2015	United States	54	(222)
correct as of 11 October 2015.
Sevens national teams
Years	Club / team		Comps
2007–2009	United States		13 (270)

Chris Wyles (born 13 September 1983 in Stamford, Connecticut, United States) is an International American-British rugby union player who plays for the USA Eagles and plays his club rugby for Saracens in the Aviva Premiership. He usually plays as a fullback or wing, but can also play as a centre. Wyles is the most-capped fullback of all time for the U.S. national team.^[2] Wyles has captained the USA national sevens team, which is a core team on the World Rugby Sevens Series.

Background

Wyles was born in Stamford, Connecticut and grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania before he moved to his parents' native United Kingdom when he was 11 years old.^[3] He then attended Haileybury and Imperial Service College in Hertford and went on to study Politics at the University of Nottingham.

Club career

Wyles’ first professional club was the Championship team, Nottingham RFC. He then played with Northampton Saints, during the 2006/2007 season. It was during this period that he caught the eye of the USA Eagles coaching team which eventually resulted in his involvement in the IRB Sevens World Series and the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

Wyles joined Saracens in summer of 2008, after impressive performances in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Eddie Jones, who was on the Springboks coaching team, saw Wyles' potential, and when Jones became Director of Rugby at Saracens he signed Wyles to build his squad.^[4] Wyles debuted for Saracens on 24 August 2008 against the Sale Sharks. In the 2009/2010 season he was a regular starter on the wing and played in the Saracens team that took on Leicester Tigers in the final of the English Premiership. For his performances during the 2009/10 Season, Wyles was nominated for Player of the Season by Brendan Venter. He was also a key figure in the successful 2010/11 Premiership winning side, starting 20 matches and leading the team in metres gained (909 metres). In the 2014–15 season, Wyles scored 13 tries, tied for second in the English Premiership.^[5] Wyles scored two tries for Saracens in their home opener of the 2015–16 Rugby Champions Cup against Toulouse helping the team run out winners, 32-7.^[6]

International career

Chris Wyles with the USA Eagles during the 2010 Churchill Cup vs Russia

Wyles playing for the Eagles during the 2015 World Cup

Wyles first represented the US national rugby sevens team at the 2007 Hong Kong Sevens. From there, he went on to captain the US team in the IRB Sevens World Series, leading the team to core IRB Sevens status. During his time with the US national Sevens team he scored an impressive 54 tries in 13 tournaments.

Wyles earned his first 15's cap at the Churchill Cup in 2007 against England Saxons before going onto to play Fullback for the Eagles in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. His performances in the World Cup led him to be named the American Rugby News ‘Player of the Year’^[7] Since the 2007 Rugby World Cup, he has been a regular starter at Fullback for the US national team. In 2009, Wyles was included in the USA Eagles team of the decade by RugbyMag, a leading US rugby publication.^[8] Wyles continued his form for the USA team playing in the 2011 Rugby World Cup finishing as the Eagles top points scorer. His recent performances for club and country won him the 2012 Player of the Year award for American rugby.^[9]

In January 2016 Wyles announced he had retired from international XVs duty with the Men's Eagles to focus on the remaining years of his contract with Saracens FC in England and to push for the Rio 2016 Olympic Summer Games.^[10]

International Tries

Chris Wyles' International Tries [11]
Try	Opponent	City/Country	Venue	Competition	Year
[1]	South Africa	Montpellier, France	Stade de la Mosson	2007 Rugby World Cup	2007
[2]	Uruguay	Sandy, Utah	Rio Tinto Stadium	Test Match	2008
[3]	Japan	Tokyo, Japan	Chichibunomiya Stadium	Test Match	2008
[4–5]	Russia	Glendale, Colorado	Infinity Park	2010 Churchill Cup	2010
[6]	Italy	Nelson, New Zealand	Trafalgar Park	2011 Rugby World Cup	2011
[7]	Russia	Colwyn Bay, Wales	Eirias Park	Test Match	2012
[8-9]	Romania	Bucharest, Romania	Stadionul Arcul de Triumf	Test Match	2012
[10]	Japan	Tokyo, Japan	Chichibunomiya Stadium	Pacific Nations Cup	2013
[11]	Georgia	Rustavi, Georgia	Rustavi Rugby Stadium	Test Match	2013
[12]	Russia	London, England	Allianz Park	Test Match	2013
[13]	Uruguay	Montevideo, Uruguay	Estadio Charrúa	2015 RWC qualifier	2014
[14]	Canada	Sacramento, California	Bonney Field	Pacific Nations Cup	2014
[15]	Samoa	Brighton, England	Falmer Stadium	2015 Rugby World Cup	2015
[16]	Japan	Gloucester, England	Kingsholm	2015 Rugby World Cup	2015

References

1. "Aviva Premiership Rugby - Saracens". web page. Premier Rugby. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
2. IRB Match Preview: Japan v USA, June 2013, http://www.irb.com/mm/document/tournament/mediazone/02/06/78/68/20130621japvusa.pdf
3. "Player profile". web page. Saracens Official website. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
4. "Saracens sign American star". Sky Sports. 26 August 2008.
5. "Top Try Scorers: 2014–15". Premiership Rugby. Premier Rugby. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
6. "Saracens' Chris Wyles scores two tries on bleak night for Toulouse". guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
7. "Wyles named ARN Player of the Year | Live Rugby News | ESPN Scrum". espnscrum.com. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
8. http://www.rugbymag.com/fan-zone/awards/team-and-player-of-the-decade.aspx
9. "This Is American Rugby: TIAR Awards: Men’s Player of the Year, Chris Wyles". thisisamericanrugby.com. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
10. "Chris Wyles retires from International XV Competition Read more at http://www.usarugby.org/2016/01/chris-wyles-retires-from-international-xvs/#1AiSejT8O0UK0cIv.99". USA rugby. Retrieved 13 September 2016. External link in |title= (help)
11. "Chris Wyles International tries". espnscrum. Retrieved 20 September 2015.

External links

• Profile at ESPN Scrum
• USA rugby
• Aviva Premiership Rugby