David Strettle

David Strettle
Birth nameDavid Strettle
Date of birth (1983-07-23) 23 July 1983 (age 41)
Place of birthLymm, Cheshire, England
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight78 kg (12 st 4 lb; 172 lb)[1]
SchoolLymm High School
UniversitySheffield Hallam University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre/Wing
Youth career
- Lymm
– Warrington
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2002-2006 Rotherham Titans 43 (135)
2006-2010 Harlequins 81 (90)
2010-2015 Saracens 127 (205)
2015-2018 Clermont Auvergne 52 (100)
2018–2019 Saracens 19 (30)
Correct as of 9 December 2019
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2007-2013 England 14 (10)
National sevens team
Years Team Comps
England

David Strettle (born 23 July 1983) is a former English rugby union wing.

Early life

Strettle grew up in Thelwall, Cheshire, attending Lymm High School and playing for Lymm RFC. Strettle then went on to study at Sheffield Hallam University.

Career

In the summer of 2006, Strettle joined the Harlequins from Rotherham, and made his club debut in the pre-season friendly against ASM Clermont on 6 August of that year.

As a teenager, he was a talented footballer, appearing on the books of Liverpool FC, Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra.[2] He was also a keen rugby league fan.

Strettle scored a hat trick on his Rotherham debut against Rugby Lions and made his Premiership debut for the Titans against Bath in October 2003. He was Rotherham's top try-scorer in National One in the 2004–05 season scoring 18 tries in 22 appearances.

Strettle was known as "Ducks" at Harlequins after David Duckham, a player with whom Strettle has drawn comparison,[3] and was touted as a future England winger. He scored a hat trick in the game against Newcastle Falcons and was included in the England Saxons squad for the team's games against Italy and Ireland, scoring in both games.

Strettle was also a regular in the England sevens squad throughout the 2005/06 IRB World Seven Series. He won a surprise call up to the England starting XV for its 2007 Six Nations game against Ireland at Croke Park in the place of the injured Jason Robinson, and scored England's only try in the 43–13 defeat on his debut.[4] He also started in the win over France and the defeat to Wales.

On 2 May 2007, Strettle was named as the Professional Rugby Player's Association Young Player of the Season. He was also named in the Sky Sports Dream Team for the Guinness Premiership season 2006–07, along with fellow Harlequin and England hopeful Mike Brown. Also in May 2007, Strettle was named in the England Rugby squad to tour South Africa. Unfortunately, he came down with food poisoning along with other members of the squad, which prevented him from starting in England's 58–10 record defeat to South Africa.

On 16 August 2007, a confusing article appeared on Harlequins official site. It seemed to suggest that Strettle had crossed codes and signed for Harlequins RL. The basis of the story was that he was also a registered Harlequins Rugby League club player, as many players in Harlequins Rugby Union side were.[5][6]

He returned to play for Harlequins after recovering from the injury that put him out of the 2007 Rugby World Cup and was called up to the England squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship.[7][8] He started the game against Wales but was withdrawn early on following a metatarsal break, which ruled him out of the rest of the tournament.

It was announced on 25 March 2010 that he would be playing rugby for Saracens from the start of 2010-11 season. During his time at Saracens he won two Premiership titles in 2011 and 2015. Strettle started both finals.[9][10]

Strettle stayed with Saracens for a further four seasons, scoring 49 tries, until it was announced he would be playing for the French side Clermont Auvergne, beginning from the 2015-16 Top 14 season.[11]

On 25 January 2018, Strettle re-signed with Saracens on a one-year contract, from the 2018-19 season.[12] Upon his return to Saracens he helped them win the 2018–19 European Rugby Champions Cup, in the final of which he was a replacement.[13] He was also a replacement as Saracens won the 2019 Premiership final.[14]

Personal life

Strettle is an aficionado of Football Manager, and sees himself as having the knack for "picking up players on the cheap and turning them into the new Rooney or Henry". This was an idea he floated to the Saracens coaching staff after a serious injury to flyhalf Derick Hougaard and resulted in Venter bringing in Owen Farrell at 10. He recently boasted of his ability to turn West Ham into a top European team within 2 to 3 seasons, while also stating that he was a "world class football manager".[15]

Strettle's England teammates gave Strettle a new nickname during the 2007 Six Nations Championship. During training sessions, fellow players called him 'The Milkman' as he was known to always deliver a great performance during matches. This was revealed in a post-match interview after England's loss to Ireland.[16]

International tries

Try Opposing team Location Venue Competition Date Result Score
1  Ireland Dublin, Ireland Croke Park 2007 Six Nations Championship 24 February 2007 Loss 43 - 13 [17]
2  Argentina Salta, Argentina Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena Summer International 8 June 2013 Win 32-3 [16]

References

  1. ^ "Aviva Premiership Rugby - Saracens". web page. Premier Rugby. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  2. ^ Cleary, Mick (24 February 2007). "Strettle was fast-tracked into the England squad". Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2007.
  3. ^ Slot, Owen (15 March 2007). "Laid-back Strettle earns comparisons to England legend". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 17 March 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2007.
  4. ^ "Ireland v England". BBC. 24 February 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  5. ^ "The loss of David Strettle will be a huge disappointment, not only to Quins but also to England RU". Quins. 20 June 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
  6. ^ "Harlequins Rugby Union : The Official website of Harlequin FC". Quins.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  7. ^ "Vainikolo named in England squad". BBC. 9 January 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  8. ^ "Vainikolo – named in England squad". Sportinglife. 9 January 2008. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  9. ^ "Leicester 18-22 Saracens". BBC. 28 May 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Premiership final: Bath 16-28 Saracens". BBC. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Clermont Auvergne sign English utility back David Strettle from Saracens". Standard. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  12. ^ "David Strettle re-signs for Saracens from 2018/19 after agreeing new one-year contract to leave Clermont Auvergne". Independent. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  13. ^ "Leinster 10-20 Saracens: English side win third Champions Cup in Newcastle". BBC. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Premiership final: Exeter Chiefs 34-37 Saracens". BBC. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  15. ^ David Strettle (3 September 2008). FM2009 & FMH 2009 Pt 1 (FLV) (Documentary). London: Sports Interactive. Event occurs at 4:45. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2008. My skill as a manager, I'd like to think it'd be transfers, yeah. Picking up players on the cheap and turning them into the new Rooney or Henry.
  16. ^ a b Mike Henson. "Argentina 3-32 England: Tourists brush Pumas aside in first Test". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  17. ^ James Standley. "Ireland v England". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2014.