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| Born | Mathew James Murray Tait (1986-02-06)6 February 1986 (age 40) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 90 kg (14 st 2 lb; 198 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Barnard Castle School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Newcastle University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative | Alex Tait | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mathew James Murray Tait (born 6 February 1986)[1] is a retired Englishrugby union player who gained 38 caps forEngland between 2005–2010, including starting in the2007 Rugby World Cup Final; and played 279 club games forNewcastle Falcons,Sale Sharks andLeicester Tigers between 2004 and 2018. He was considered a utility back regularly playing atcentre,fullback orwing. Tait made his Newcastle debut in 2004 and made his England debut at 18 years old in 2005, at the time the second youngest England player selected since the Second World War. He played 87 times for Newcastle before joining Sale in 2008 where he played 49 times. Tait joined Leicester in 2011 and made 143 appearances between his 2011 debut and retirement. While at Leicester Tait started the2013 Premiership Rugby Final which Leicester won as well as the2017 Anglo-Welsh Cup Final, which Leicester also won. His final game was on 5 May 2018 against former club Sale.
Born 6 February 1986, inShotley Bridge,[2]County Durham, Tait attendedBarnard Castle School, where he was a member of the school 1st XV which appeared in theDaily Mail Cup Final for two successive seasons. The school has also produced England internationalsRob Andrew,Rory Underwood, andTony Underwood.
Newcastle Falcons signed the centre on contract in April 2004 while he was still finishing his A levels, in which he achieved 3 A's.[3][4] In May 2004 he made his debut in anEnglish Premiership game againstLondon Irish and scored a try with his first touch of the ball.
On 3 May 2008 Tait agreed to a deal to leave the Falcons to sign for Sale Sharks. Tait was linked up with All-Black centreLuke McAlister. During the2008–09 Guinness Premiership season Tait suffered several injuries and was experimented at full-back. However, as the season continued and entered its latter stages, Tait began to play at his preferred position of outside centre and put in performances that ensured he was selected forEngland again.
Tait's 2010–11 season was hampered by injury. Complications during knee surgery meant he was unable to play for Sale until late October, and he missed much of November when the problem flared up again. In January Tait suffered a dislocated shoulder during anAmlin Cup match againstCetransa El Salvador; the injury threatened to rule him out of the rest of the season and forced him out of the England Saxons squad.[5]
Tait ended his career atLeicester Tigers, for whom he signed ahead of the 2011–12 season. Tait started the final as Leicester won the 2013 Premiership title.[6] He retired in 2018.
In 2002, he was capped asoutside centre by England U16 then U18 and by England under 19 when he was still at school. This was where he was spotted by the National Academy manager,Brian Ashton, who selected him for the Junior National Academy in 2003–04. The then-17-year-old was fast-tracked into the Senior National Academy.
Tait has also played forEngland's rugby sevens team, he was a member of the side that won theDubai Sevens in December 2004.
Tait gained media attention whenAndy Robinson named him in theEngland starting XV for their opening 2005Six Nations Championship game, againstWales on 5 February, which England lost 11–9. Tait failed to make an impact either in attack or defence and was the victim of two tackles fromGavin Henson before eventually being replaced. At just under 19 years of age, he was the second-youngest player to have played for England sinceWorld War II, with only his Newcastle teammateJonny Wilkinson having played at a younger age. He was dropped after the game but later regained his place in the England squad, missing out on the first game of England's 2006 autumn campaign against New Zealand only through injury. He last played a full international for England in 2010.
During his absence from the test squad, Tait was a regular member ofEngland's rugby sevens team. He starred at the sevens tournament in the2006 Commonwealth Games inMelbourne, finishing as the tournament's top try-scorer, with nine tries, as he helped England to the silver medal.
At the2007 Rugby World Cup, he made a return to the England squad and was the youngest player in the squad.
Comments made about his performance and ability during and after the 2007 World Cup includeMike Catt hailing him as "the future of English rugby",[7] particularly praising his performance against Tonga. Others have said he is "the exemplar of the coming generation"[8] and that he "came of age in the final"[9]
In the2008 Six Nations Championship he scored a try in England's 33–10 win overIreland.
After an injury-ridden start to the2008–09 Guinness Premiership season, Tait began to play at his preferred position of outside centre and put in performances that ensured he was selected forEngland for the tests againstArgentina andBarbarians.
In July 2009 Tait was selected inMartin Johnson's 32-man elite squad for the second year, and was also selected for England's opening game against Wales in the 2010 Six Nations, again under Johnson's management, starting at outside centre. Another season filled with injuries meant Tait was not selected for the 2011 World Cup squad.
In 2006, he started studying toward aBiomedical Science degree atNewcastle University.[10] After moving to Sale, he suspended his studies at the university.[11] In early 2010, he was training to become a pilot,[12] having expressed an interest in becoming a commercial pilot.[citation needed]
