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Mark Billings (born 1987) is an English rugby union player-coach who plays either on the Wing or as Full back.[1] He has spent the bulk of his career at Southend, where he was club captain, and regular appearances for his club resulted in Billings becoming one of the top try scorers in National League 2 South history, with almost 90 tries in the competition.[2] He is currently employed as a player-coach for Rochford Hundred. He has also made a number of appearances for Hawkwell vets 7 a side football team on a Wednesday night to reasonable success.
| Date of birth | 13 April 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Career
editStarting his career with Southend in 2005, Billings made 18 appearances and scored 6 tries in his debut season for the Essex club as they finished fifth in National Division 3 South. In the 2006–07 season Billings contributed 11 tries from 21 appearances in what was one of the best seasons in Southend's history as they won the National Division 3 South title and promotion to National Division Two.[3] After a couple of seasons in tier 2, Southend were relegated back to tier 4 in 2009, coming 12th in the league, some way off safety.[4] Despite 2008–09 being a poor season for the club, in February 2009, Billings was called up for the England Counties XV squad to play France Federale at Twickenham Stadium.[5]
Following relegation, Billings remained with the Essex club and during 2010–11 had the best try-scoring form of his career with 15 tries in 29 appearances for a Southend side that finished 4th in a competitive National League 2 South that featured teams such as Ealing Trailfinders, Jersey and Richmond. By 2014–15 Billings was captaining a Southend side that only just survived relegation thanks to a losing bonus point in their final game against Redruth, which tied them level with Lydney who went down instead due to having a poorer overall record.[6] The next season Southend were unable to survive as they were relegated in 15th place, some 20 off safety.[7] In the summer of 2016 Billings left to join another Essex club, Rochford Hundred, playing several divisions below Southend in London 2 North East, to take up a position as player-coach.[8]
Season-by-season playing stats
edit| Season | Club | Competition | Appearances | Tries | Drop Goals | Conversions | Penalties | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | Southend | National Division 3 South | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| EDF Energy Trophy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | National Division 3 South | 21 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | |
| 2007–08 | National Division 2 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | |
| EDF Energy Trophy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | National Division 2 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | |
| EDF Energy Trophy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | National League 2 South | 26 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | |
| 2010–11 | National League 2 South | 29 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 86 | |
| 2011–12 | National League 2 South | 23 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | |
| 2012–13 | National League 2 South | 18 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 | |
| 2013–14 | National League 2 South | 29 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 78 | |
| 2014–15 | National League 2 South | 24 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | |
| 2015–16 | National League 2 South | 25 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | |
| 2016–17 | Rochford Hundred | London 2 North East | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
Honours and records
editSouthend
- National Division 3 South champions: 2006–07
International/Representative
- Called up for England Counties XV: 2009
References
edit- ^ "Mark Billings Details". Rugby Statbunker. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
- ^ "National Two South All time try scorers". Rugby Statbunker. 25 December 2015.
- ^ "Just champion!". Echo News. 24 April 2007.
- ^ "Relegated Southend end term on low note". Daily Gazette. 28 April 2009.
- ^ "England call gives Mark top Billings". Echo News. 24 February 2009.
- ^ "Both Clubs relegated..." Pitchero. 25 April 2015.
- ^ "Southend Saxons start rebuilding job following relegation". Echo News. 20 April 2016.
- ^ "Rochford Hundred's double signing is 'a message of intent'". Echo News. 7 June 2016.
- ^ "Mark Billings Record by competition". Rugby Statbunker. 30 April 2016.
- ^ "mark billings". Rochford Hundred Rugby Club. 17 December 2016.