Regan Grace

Regan Grace
Personal information
Born (1996-12-12) 12 December 1996 (age 28)
Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot, Wales
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight12 st 12 lb (82 kg)
Playing information
Rugby league
PositionWing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2016–22 St Helens 141 88 0 0 352
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–17 Wales 6 3 0 0 12
Rugby union
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2022–23 Racing 92 0 0 0 0 0
2024– Bath 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]
As of 8 March 2024

Regan Grace (born 12 December 1996) is a Welsh professional dual-code rugby footballer who plays as a wing for English rugby union side Bath Rugby.[2]

He started his professional career coming through the academy and playing six seasons with English league side St Helens in the Super League.[3]

He has represented Wales at international level for rugby league.[4]

Early life

Grace was born in Port Talbot, Wales and is of Jamaican descent.

He is the brother of television personality Lateysha Grace, and cousin of rugby footballer Calvin Wellington.[5]

Grace originally played rugby union, and started his career at Aberavon Quins RFC. He was also a member of the Ospreys youth teams.[5]

Rugby league career

St Helens

Grace joined St Helens in 2014, when he was only 17. Despite not making his first-team debut for St Helens until 2017, he was first picked to play for the Welsh international side in October 2015 when he came on as an interchange player in Wales' 14–6 victory over France.[6]

His first Super League appearance came on Good Friday, 14 April, 2017 in the derby match against Wigan where he scored a try on debut.[7] The following month he signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract with St Helens.[8] Since that moment, Grace was a regular in the St Helens side making 139 appearances by the end of the 2021 season and scoring 87 tries.[1] Among those matches have been two Challenge Cup finals. The first was the 2019 Challenge Cup Final defeat by Warrington at Wembley Stadium[9] The second was the 26–12 2021 Challenge Cup Final victory over Castleford.[10] During the 2021 Challenge Cup Grace was the leading try-scorer, scoring seven including a hat-trick against Huddersfield in the quarter-finals, and two in the semi-final against Hull FC.[11][12][13]

Grace has also played in three Super League Grand Finals as St Helens won the 2019, 2020 and 2021 Grand Finals.[14][15][16] On 5 July 2022, Grace signed a contract to join Rugby Union side Racing 92 in 2023.[17] On 2 August 2022, it was announced that Grace had ruptured his achilles during St Helens heavy defeat against Salford which would rule him out for the remainder of the 2022 Super League season.[18]

Wales

He played for Wales in the 2017 World Cup qualifiers, scoring two tries in the country's first game.[1]

He was selected in the Wales 9s squad for the 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s.[19]

Rugby union career

Racing 92

Grace signed for Top 14 side Racing 92 in 2022, but was ruled out with a significant achilles injury.[20] While recovering, Grace suffered a recurrence of the same achilles injury.[20]

Bath

Grace was released by Racing 92, and in November 2023 linked up with Premiership team Bath to continue his rehab.[21] Grace signed a short-term contract with Bath on 16 February 2024, and made his debut on 9 March 2024, in a friendly against Gloucester.[22][23] On 24 April 2024, Grace signed with Bath for the 2024–25 Premiership season.[24]

Wales

He was called up to the Wales national rugby union team for the first time on 20 June, after Keelan Giles was ruled out of the summer tour of Australia.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Player Summary: Regan Grace". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Regan Grace: Ex-Wales rugby league wing set to make Bath debut". BBC Sport. 8 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Three more youngsters agree new deals with St Helens". Sky Sports. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Wales rugby league stars braced for French European challenge in Cardiff". Wales Online. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Light in the World Cup gloom for Kear". BBC Sport. 14 November 2017.
  6. ^ Heppenstall, Ross (1 March 2021). "Amazing Grace - Wales star Regan happy to put rugby league in the spotlight". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  7. ^ Williams, David (1 May 2021). "How Port Talbot youngster has followed well-trodden path to rugby league success". The National Wales. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Regan Grace: St Helens and Wales winger signs new two-and-a-half year contract". BBC Sport. 30 May 2017.
  9. ^ "St Helens 4-18 Warrington RESULT: Challenge Cup Final as it happened from Wembley". Mirror. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  10. ^ "How St Helens players have celebrated their first Challenge Cup win in 13 years". www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk.
  11. ^ "Grace hat-trick hero in QFs". www.skysports.com.
  12. ^ "Super League Grand Final: Wigan 4-8 St Helens". BBC Sport.
  13. ^ Butcher, Tim; Spencer, Daniel, eds. (2021). Rugby League Yearbook 2021-2022. p. 303. ISBN 978 190134740 1.
  14. ^ "St Helens give Justin Holbrook the perfect send-off with commanding Grand Final victory over Salford". Telegraph. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  15. ^ "Super League Grand Final: Wigan 4-8 St Helens". BBC Sport.
  16. ^ "Super League Grand Final: Catalans Dragons 10-12 St Helens: Saints win three in a row". BBC Sport.
  17. ^ "Regan Grace: St Helens winger to switch codes with Racing 92 after 2022 season". www.bbc.co.uk.
  18. ^ "St Helens wing Regan Grace ruled out for season with ruptured Achilles". www.sthelensstar.co.uk.
  19. ^ "16-man squad for 9s World Cup revealed". Wales RL. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  20. ^ a b "The Regan Grace interview: My new target and long-term Wales hope after World Cup dream was wrecked - Wales Online". www.walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  21. ^ Walker, Callum (29 November 2023). "Ex-St Helens flyer Regan Grace doing rehab with new club after exit from rugby union side Racing 92". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  22. ^ "Regan Grace: Former St Helens winger joins Bath Rugby from Racing 92". BBC Sport. 16 February 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  23. ^ Jess, Sam; Evely, John (11 March 2024). "Johann van Graan gives his verdict on Regan Grace's Bath Rugby debut". Somerset Live. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  24. ^ "Regan Grace: Bath sign ex-St Helens rugby league wing for 2024-25". BBC Sport. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  25. ^ "Shock Wales call-up for uncapped wing Regan Grace". BBC Sport. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.