Scott Quinnell

Scott Quinnell (Leon Quinnell)
Date of birth (1972-08-20) 20 August 1972
Place of birth Morriston, Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales, UK
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight 18 st 13 lb (120 kg)[1]
School Graig Comprehensive School
Notable relative(s) Derek Quinnell (father)
Craig Quinnell (brother)
Gavin Quinnell (brother)
Barry John (uncle)[2]
Rugby league career
Position Prop, Second-row
Professional clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1994–96 Wigan 41 (72)
National teams
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1995 Wales 2 (0)
Rugby union career
Current status
Current team Retired
Playing career
Position No. 8
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1990–94
1996–98
1998–05		 Llanelli
Richmond
Llanelli Scarlets		 146
44
59		 (160)
(175)
(60)
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1993–2002
1997, 2001		 Wales
British and Irish Lions		 52
3		 (55)
(5)

Scott Quinnell (born 20 August 1972 in Morriston, Swansea, Glamorgan) is a former Welsh international rugby league and rugby union player, who was a number 8 for Wales, Llanelli RFC, the Llanelli Scarlets and the Lions. He scored 11 tries for Wales and captained his country on 7 occasions in rugby union.

Biography

Scott is the son of former Welsh international Derek Quinnell. His next younger brother Craig Quinnell plays professional rugby union, as did another brother, Gavin Quinnell, before losing the sight in one eye after an incident in a 2010 rugby match. The brothers are also nephews of legendary Welsh international Barry John.[2]

Early career

Quinnell first joined the Llanelli juniors aged 8 and made his debut as an 18-year-old back in 1990 against Penygroes. He went on to represent Llanelli on 146 occasions, scoring 69 tries in the process.

Quinnell first played for Wales as a blindside flanker in a 26-24 defeat against Canada in 1993. He was part of the 1994 Five nations winning Welsh team and was man of the match as number 8 in Wales' 24-15 victory over France that year with a try and a breakaway to set up another try.

Rugby league

He switched to rugby league in 1994, joining Wigan.[3] He stayed with Wigan for two years during this time he won the league. Scott Quinnell played Loose forward/Lock, i.e. number 11, (replaced by Interchange/Substitute Barrie McDermott on 59-minutes) in Wigan's 25-16 victory over St. Helens in the 1995–96 Regal Trophy final during the 1994–95 season at Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield on Saturday 13 January 1996.[4] He also represented Wales in the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, he says that the toughest game of rugby he ever played was the quarter final against Western Samoa.[5] Wales went out to England 25-10 in the semi-finals.

Return to Union

He returned to rugby union with Richmond in 1996. He was selected for the 1997 Lions tour of South Africa but a double hernia operation forced him to leave the tour.

He came back to his beloved Stradey Park in 1998. During the 1998-99 season he did no conditioning work at all as he had rheumatoid arthritis in his left knee. For seven years he played through the pain barrier with the condition that seemed likely to end his career.

He was part of a Welsh team that won eight straight games before the 1999 World Cup and then reached the World Cup quarter-finals where they went out 24-9 to the eventual winners Australia. He captained Wales for the first time in a 23-13 defeat by South Africa at the Millennium Stadium. Quinnell played his final game for Wales as a replacement in a 32-21 win over Canada in 2002 after winning 52 caps.

He was again selected for the 2001 Lions tour to Australia where he played in all three tests, and scored a crucial try in the first test in Brisbane.

After the Welsh domestic game went regional in 2003, he appeared 59 times for the Scarlets, scoring 32 tries. He was part of the Llanelli Scarlets team that won the Celtic League title in 2004.

Quinnell announced his retirement from rugby union at the end of the 2004-05 season in order to concentrate on his role as coach of the Llanelli RFC Welsh Premier Division team. A hand injury suffered in March 2005 forced him to end his career a few weeks prematurely. He played his final game in a testimonial match with fellow retiree Rob Howley at the Millennium Stadium. Quinnell's Britain & Ireland selection lost 57-67 to Howley's Rest of the World side.

After retirement

Quinnell currently regularly appears as a commentator and pundit on a number of Sky Sports televised rugby matches. Scott is also a People's Postcode Lottery ambassador and appears on the adverts. He's also a co-presenter and coach (with Will Greenwood) of Sky's School of Hard Knocks TV series. He also makes a recurring guest appearance as himself in the Sky 1 TV comedy series Stella.

Personal life

Quinnell is married to Nicola, and the couple have three children. Having lived all of his life in Llanelli, in early 2009 in light of his increased media commitments, the family moved to Kenilworth, Warwickshire, although they have since moved back to South Wales to a smallholding near Usk.[6]

Quinnell was born dyslexic, but was not diagnosed until his early 30s, when his lack of ability to read and write was correctly diagnosed. Having undertaken a series of therapies to resolve the condition, Quinnell is now a popular speaker on the matter. He has represented the Welsh Dyslexia Project, and also completed an autobiography[7] as part of the Accent Press Quick Reads series.

In August 2007 Quinnell was treated for serious injuries after slipping whilst entering a shower and falling through a glass shower door at his then home near Llanelli. He was taken to West Wales General Hospital in Carmarthen with a severed right triceps and glass embedded in his right arm, hand and knee.[8] Quinnell's godfather was Welsh rugby legend Mervyn Davies.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.espnscrum.com/wales/rugby/player/11663.html
  2. 1 2 "Quinnell family's shock over sight loss ruling". BBC Sport. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  3. ↑ "Gareth Thomas completes switch from union to Wales rugby league side Crusaders". telegraph.co.uk. UK: Telegraph Media Group Limited. 2010-03-05. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  4. ↑ "13th January 1996: St Helens 16 Wigan 25 (Regal Trophy Final)". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "Quinnell gives Millennium Magic the thumbs up". SuperLeague. 2008-04-15. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  6. ↑ "Scott Quinnell heads east". walesonline.co.uk. 2009-05-15. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
  7. ↑ Quinnell, Scott – The Hardest Test, published by Accent Press, 2008, ISBN 978-1-906125-95-0
  8. ↑ Quinnell hurt in shower accident
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