Kieran Brookes (born 29 August 1990) is an English rugby union player who plays for Toulon and played for England. He usually plays as a tighthead prop, but can also cover as a loosehead prop. He was educated at Kirkham Grammar School.[4]
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| Birth name | Kieran Brookes[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 29 August 1990[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 129 kg (20 st 4 lb)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Lytham St Annes High School[3] Kirkham Grammar School[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Club career
editBrookes made almost 40 senior appearances for Newcastle but only started 1 game in the 2009–2010 season.[5]
Brookes moved to Leicester Tigers for the 2011–12 season.[6]
Having returned to the Newcastle Falcons on loan from Leicester Tigers in March 2013, he signed a two-year contract to stay with the Falcons in April 2013.[7]
On 13 January 2015, it was announced that Brookes would be joining Northampton Saints at the end of the 2014-15 season.[8]
Brookes became a regular starter for the East Midlands side and racked up numerous appearances at his time at Saints.
The prop helped Saints to secure European Champions Cup rugby for the 2017/18 season, featuring in both play-off games as Saints beat Connacht Rugby and Stade Francais to seal the last spot in the top tier of European rugby for the following season.[9][10]
On 13 June 2018, Brookes signed for Premiership rivals Wasps from the 2018-19 season.[11]
On 9 June 2021, it was widely confirmed that Brookes would leave Wasps at the end of the season to join top French side Toulon in the Top 14 competition ahead of the 2021-22 season.[12] On 19 January 2024, Brookes would sign a two-year deal for French rivals Perpignan from the 2024-25 season.[13]
International career
editAlthough born in England, Brookes played at many underage levels for Ireland, including U-18, U-19 and U-20.[14]
Brookes has committed himself to the England rugby team, playing for England in an uncapped match against the Barbarians and for the England Saxons in their successful Churchill Cup campaign in the summer of 2011. In May 2014 he was called up to England's training squad for the tour of New Zealand, where he earned himself his first two caps for his country.[15]
Since making his senior debut for England in that tour, Brookes has taken to the field for England 16 times. He was a member of the 2015 Rugby World Cup squad and was included in the squad for the 2016 Six Nations and after joining the squad on 1 February, coming back from an injury, helped his country to a Grand Slam victory.[16][17]
The summer of 2016 saw Brookes become part of the England Saxons squad once more where he travelled to South Africa to face South Africa 'A' where the men in white secured a 2-0 series win.[18]
References
edit- ^ "Kieran Brookes". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Kieran Brookes". Newcastle Falcons. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ a b "Kieran Brookes". Rugby Football Union. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ "Kieran Brookes - Official RFU England Profile". 12 July 2014. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ "James Hall joins Newcastle Falcons | Rugby | Stoke and Staffordshire sport". This is Staffordshire. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
- ^ "Rugby Union News". Planet Rugby. 9 June 2011. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
- ^ "Error404 - Newcastle Falcons".
- ^ "Saints to sign England prop Brookes". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "16/17 Northampton Saints v Connacht | European Cup". Northampton Saints. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "16/17 Northampton Saints v Stade Francais | European Cup". Northampton Saints. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Kieran Brookes: Wasps sign Northampton Saints tight-head prop". BBC Sport. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- ^ "Kieran Brookes' Toulon switch confirmed by Wasps legend". Coventry Telegraph. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- ^ "Transferts : Kieran Brookes deux ans à Perpignan (Rugby)". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ Thornley, Gerry. "Leicester prop in Ireland frame". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "RFU". www.englandrugby.com. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ world.rugby. "Burgess and Slade get the nod for England | Rugby World Cup". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Prop Brookes back in England squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Guinness Six Nations Rugby News". Six Nations Rugby. Retrieved 13 September 2021.