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| Birth name | Gareth Leon Delve | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1982-12-30)30 December 1982 (age 42) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cardiff, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 116 kg (18 st 4 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Colston's Collegiate | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gareth Leon Delve (born 30 December 1982) is a formerWales internationalrugby union player. Having started his career playing rugby in the EnglishPremiership Rugby from 2001, he became a captain ofGloucester. Then, in late 2010, he moved to Australia where he went on to captain theMelbourne Rebels, as well as later playing inJapan. He returned to play his final season for theSwansea Ospreys, before retiring from professional rugby in 2016, his usual position wasnumber 8. Since retirement he has completed an MSc in university, and had become part of backroom staff in Bristol and then Gloucester, where since 2022 he became the academy manager.
Delve was a pupil at Rumney High School in Cardiff[1] and accepted a Rugby scholarship fromColston's Collegiate School in Bristol[2] before signing a professional contract with Bath in 2001.
After a few frustrating seasons at Bath, he was named in the Welsh squad for the2006 Six Nations Championship, and earned two caps during the tournament, making his debut againstScotland. He was also called up for the summer tour to Argentina in June 2006, and earned another two caps, as well as scoring a try in the second Test.
In the summer of 2007, he moved from Bath toGloucester Rugby. He was appointed joint captain of Gloucester in 2009,[3] a position he held in 2010 before he moved to Australia.[4][5]
In March 2010, he was recalled to the Wales squad and selected in the starting line-up for the match versus Ireland.[4] He was named in the preliminary squad for the2011 Rugby World Cup[6] but was ultimately left out of the final squad.[7]
In March 2010, Delve signed with the newly formedMelbourne Rebels,[8] and joined the team in October, in preparation for their inaugural2011Super Rugby season.[9] The move to Melbourne saw Delve reconnect with former Bath Forwards Coach Mark Bakewell. Although there had been speculation that Delve might playblindside flanker,[5] he became the Rebels regular No.8.In February 2011, Delve was appointed the Rebels' vice-captain, deputy to formerWallaby captainStirling Mortlock.[10] In Round 9 of the 2011 season, Delve became the first overseas player to captain an AustralianSuper Rugby side (v. Highlanders, in Melbourne).[2]
In 2011, Delve earned a call-up to the initial 45-man Welsh World Cup squad, training in Spala, Poland. He missed the first training session due to Rebels duties. He was to join the squad after the final games for the Rebels against the Western Force.
In June 2012, he re-signed with the Rebels for 2013.[2] Rebels CEO Steven Boland said Delve had been a wonderful ambassador for the Rebels. "His leadership has also been outstanding and given the upcoming retirement of our Captain Stirling Mortlock, Gareth will once again be an important part of our leadership group next year."[2]
In May 2013, it was announced that Delve would leave the Rebels at the end of the season,[11] along with head coachDamien Hill and fellow Rebels playersJames O'Connor,Cooper Vuna,Ged Robinson,Nick Phipps,Nic Henderson,James King,Tim Davidson andRichard Kingi. His last game as a Rebels player was a home game against New Zealand franchise the Highlanders, a match that also turned out to be the last Rebels match for head coachDamien Hill and playersJames O'Connor,Cooper Vuna,Ged Robinson,Nick Phipps andNic Henderson. In front of over 12,000 spectators, the Rebels overcame a 24-point half-time deficit to achieve a remarkable 38–37 come-from-behind victory over the Highlanders, ending Delve's tenure as a Rebels player on a winning note.[12]
It had been speculated in the Australian press that Delve would continue his rugby union career in Japan.[13] It was officially confirmed that Delve would joinNEC Green Rockets in the JapaneseTop League for the next season.
On 27 March 2015, it was announced Delve had signed a two-year contract withWelsh regionOspreys.[14] He was released from his contract one year later.[15]
After retiring from rugby, Delve continued his involvement with rugby, and in 2017, he became theBristol Bears team manager for the 2017/18 rugby season. During this period, Delve also completed an MSc in management atSwansea University. His tenure with Bristol was for two seasons and he departed in 2019.[16][17] After a stint as a team manager, since November 2022, Delve had rejoined the Gloucester rugby club and is since working in the youth academy as a manager.[18]
Delve's parents are Steve Delve, a former prop and competitive bodybuilder, and Dolan Delve, née Taylor; both of whom are from Wales.[19] When asked to describe some of his proudest moments, he replied that one was when "I [gave] my match jersey to my grandfather before he passed away so that was absolutely massive for me and something I'll always remember."[20]
Late in 2010, while house hunting in Melbourne with his partner, Delve chanced upon a man allegedly assaulting a woman and attempting to push her into a car. It's alleged that the man attacked Delve, and was knocked to the ground. Delve called the police. The MelbourneAge hinted Delve behaved like a superhero, but to Delve "The good thing was that he started being aggressive towards me instead of towards the woman ... the way I was brought up you don't like seeing things like that happen. In the situation, it felt like the right thing to step in."[21]