Will Skelton
170px | |||
Will Skelton in Sydney Stars kit. | |||
Full name | William Skelton | ||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 3 May 1992 | ||
Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | ||
Height | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).[1] | ||
Weight | 140 kg (22 st 1 lb)[1] | ||
School | The Hills Sports High School | ||
University | Australian Catholic University | ||
Notable relative(s) | Cameron Skelton (brother) Brad Mika (cousin) |
||
Rugby union career | |||
Playing career | |||
Position | Lock | ||
Professional / senior clubs | |||
Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
2014 | Sydney Stars | 5 | (10) |
correct as of 24 October 2014. | |||
Super Rugby | |||
Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
2013– | Waratahs | 39 | (5) |
Current local club | Sydney University | ||
correct as of 22 August 2015. | |||
National team(s) | |||
Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
2014– | Australia | 14 | (10) |
correct as of 27 September 2015. |
Will Skelton (born 3 May 1992) is an Australian rugby union footballer of Samoan descent.He currently plays for the Waratahs in the Super Rugby competition, and his regular playing position is lock.[2]
Family and early life
Skelton was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and moved with his family to Sydney at the age of 10.[2] He is the cousin of former All Black lock Brad Mika.[2][3] and is the older brother of Cameron Skelton. Though smaller than his younger brother, Skelton weighed 150 kg while still a teenager (his playing weight is now 140 kg or under),[1] and he wears a size 18 to 19 (UK) boot.[4][5][6][7]
He played junior rugby league for the Wentworthville Magpies before taking up rugby union at age 15 at The Hills Sports High School in Seven Hills.[3]
Skelton joined the Sydney University rugby club in 2010.[8] In 2011, he was invited into the Waratahs Academy and the ARU's National Academy in Sydney. After a promising first year, a fractured foot sustained in February 2012 prevented him from playing for the remainder of the year.[8]
Rugby career
In March 2013, Skelton was signed to the Waratahs' Extended Player Squad by coach Michael Cheika.[2][8] He made his Super Rugby debut against the Stormers,[4] and was selected to play for the Waratahs against the British and Irish Lions in June of that year.[3]
In 2014, Skelton was approached by Graham Henry to join the Blues in Auckland, but turned him down.[9] He was named in the Wallabies squad for the June tests in 2014.[10]
Skelton made his test debut for Australia against France on 21 June 2014, starting as the right lock and scoring the first try for the Wallabies in their 39–13 win.[11] His offload game has been compared to Auckland-born rugby footballer Sonny Bill Williams.[12]
The Waratahs made the Super Rugby semi-finals in 2015. Skelton was included in the Wallabies squad for The Rugby Championship and he started against the Springboks in the 24-20 win at Suncorp Stadium.
Skelton's inclusion in the Wallabies squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup was cut short after he sustained a shoulder injury during the tournament.
References
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links
- It's Rugby statistics
- Waratahs Profile
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Use dmy dates from June 2014
- Use Australian English from June 2014
- All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
- Pages with broken file links
- 1992 births
- Australia international rugby union players
- Australian people of Samoan descent
- Australian rugby union players
- New South Wales Waratahs players
- Living people
- New Zealand emigrants to Australia
- Rugby union locks
- Super Rugby players
- Sydney Stars players