Spencer John
| Birth name | Spencer Courtney John | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 19 October 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 121 kg (19 st 1 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Spencer John (born October 19, 1973) is a retired Welsh international rugby union player. He made 18 appearances for the Wales national team between 1995 and 2002, as well as representing Llanelli RFC and Cardiff RFC in the top division of Welsh club rugby.
Rugby career
[edit]After playing for Neath Athletic RFC, John's senior club rugby started with Llanelli RFC. John represented Wales at under-18, under-19 and under-21 age levels.[1] His first call up to the senior Wales squad came during the 1995 Five Nations Championship and he made his début against Scotland. He also featured in the Five Nations game against Ireland and was a member of the 1995 Rugby World Cup squad, but didn't make an appearance during the tournament.
John's next appearance for the national side came as a replacement against England in the 1997 Five Nations Championship.[2] For the 1997/98 season, John moved to Cardiff RFC.[3] He made 127 appearances over five seasons for Cardiff,[4] including the 1999-2000 season where Cardiff were champions of the Welsh-Scottish League. During his time at Cardiff, John continued to make appearances for the Wales national team, participating in the 2000, 2001 and 2002 Six Nations tournaments. His final international was against Scotland in April 2002. In May 2002, John suffered a ruptured disk in his neck when the car he was travelling in was hit from behind while stationary at traffic lights.[5] An operation to insert a titanium plate into his neck was carried out and initially he was told that he would not be able to resume training for at least six months. The injury eventually resulted in John announcing his retirement from playing rugby as he was unable to fully recover.[6]
Post retirement
[edit]Since retiring from playing rugby, John has run a construction and development company, Construction Confidence.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Bale, Steve (22 February 1995). "Wales call takes John by surprise". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.
- ^ "Player - Spencer John (Wales)". ESPN Scrum.
- ^ "Rugby Union: Club-by-club guide to Premier League". The Independent. 10 August 1997. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.
- ^ "Spencer John Playing Summary". Cardiff Rugby Football Club.
- ^ "Cardiff sign Namibian star". BBC Sport Online. 19 June 2002.
- ^ "John speaks about the pain of quitting rugby". Wales Online. 18 July 2006. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
- ^ "About Spencer John". Construction Confidence Cardiff. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015.