Full name Lee Andrew Mears
Born
March 5, 1979, Torquay
Current age 45 years 64 days
Major teams Bath Rugby, British and Irish Lions, England Saxons, England, England XV
Position Hooker
Height
5 ft 9 in
Weight 220 lb
|
Span | Mat | Start | Sub | Pts | Tries | Conv | Pens | Drop | Won | Lost | Draw | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All Tests | 2005-2012 | 43 | 17 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 25 | 1 | 40.69 |
England | 2005-2012 | 42 | 16 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 24 | 1 | 41.66 |
British and Irish Lions | 2009-2009 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Five/Six Nations | 2006-2012 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 55 |
IRB Rugby World Cup | 2007-2011 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
Test debut | England v Samoa at Twickenham, Nov 26, 2005 match details |
Last Test | South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Jun 23, 2012 match details |
Test Statsguru | Main menu | Career summary | Match list | Most points | Most tries | Tournament list |
Team | Span | Mat | Start | Sub | Pts | Tries | Conv | Pens | Drop | Won | Lost | Draw | % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All matches | 1999-2013 | 177 | 114 | 63 | 50 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 102 | 68 | 7 | 59.6 |
Bath Rugby | 1999-2013 | 177 | 114 | 63 | 50 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 102 | 68 | 7 | 59.6 |
Lee Mears was a hugely successful hooker for England and Bath who retired from the game in 2013.
Mears secured a starting berth with Bath following several years as understudy to both Jonathan Humphreys and Mark Regan. He began his career with Bath in 1998, whilst also making headway in the England youth system.Mears helped the Saxons to the Churchill Cup title in 2005 and was rewarded with a call up to the autumn internationals the same year. He made his international debut against Samoa at Twickenham.
Mears was selected for the 2007 World Cup on the back of another consistent season with Bath, in which they reached the final of the European Challenge Cup, but found himself behind Regan in the pecking order. But with youth given its head the season after, Mears took the hooker berth for the final two fixtures of the 2008 Six Nations. Mears then had to compete with George Chuter and Dylan Hartley for the England hooker's shirt but kept it throughout the 2008 autumn Tests and the 2009 Six Nations.
Selected for the 2009 Lions tour of South Africa and made the XV for the first Test in Durban. He struggled with his lineouts as Victor Matfield picked his throws with ease and after the first Test defeat Mears did not play in the remaining Tests as the Lions conceded the series 2-1.
After the Lions tour, Mears found himself banished to the international wilderness in favour of Hartley and the resurgent Steve Thompson. Ahead of the World Cup, Mears was back in the mix as he added to his Test cap tally with some appearances from the bench.
Hartley and Thompson were England's primary hookers for the World Cup and Mears' time was restricted to just one appearance from the bench which came against Romania. With England experiencing huge upheavel after the failed campaign, new boss Stuart Lancaster kept the faith with Mears and retained him in the EPS but he found it hard to break into the squad.
After substitute appearances for England in their first and third Tests against South Africa, Mears announced his international retirement after the squad returned home.
Following a long and successful career Mears was forced to announce his retirement from all rugby in February 2013. An abnormality known to occur in some athletes was discovered during a cardiac screening, forcing Mears to announce his retirment at the age of 33.
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