William Wesley Twelvetrees (born 15 November 1988) is a former rugby union footballer who played centre or fly-half. He formerly played as inside centre for the England national team.
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| Birth name | William Wesley Twelvetrees | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 15 November 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Chichester, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 103 kg (227 lb; 16 st 3 lb) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | The Weald School, Billingshurst | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Whilst playing for the Leicester Tigers, Twelvetrees was nicknamed '36' based on the Irish-accented pronunciation of twelvetrees by club captain Geordan Murphy, which sounded like "twelve threes", or 36.[2]
Early life
editTwelvetrees grew up in Wisborough Green, West Sussex.[3] He is the son of Kevin Twelvetrees, a tree surgeon, and Beverley Twelvetrees. He attended Wisborough Green Primary School and later The Weald Secondary School in Billingshurst.[4] He is the youngest of four brothers who were all encouraged to play rugby by their mother, Beverley, with his older brothers Jonathan and twins Matthew and Joseph providing suitable competition.
Growing up, Twelvetrees was active in a range of sports including football and cricket. During his youth he spent his summer weekends playing for Wisborough Green Cricket Club where he was proficient with the bat: "Billy’s still got the biggest hit for Wisborough Green Cricket Club. From the most distant wicket he cleared the pavilion with a six."
Twelvetrees spent his youth at a succession of Sussex rugby clubs, including a spell at Haywards Heath in the same side as Joe Marler but it was a family friend (a part-owner of Leicester Lions) who would provide Twelvetrees with his first foray into professional rugby. While Twelvetrees was with the Lions, a coach there put him in touch with the-then Leicester Tigers academy manager, Andy Key, and after playing summer Sevens by way of a trial, he was taken on.
He also received regular mentoring from expert players who suggested moving him to inside centre from fly-half. This move would prove very fruitious as his versatility led to more game time. Focusing on his passing game to compliment his natural physicality was a big priority at this time which made him a huge asset in the midfield, where he was regularly deployed as a second playmaker. Twelvetrees has remarked that this was imperative to him becoming a professional.[5]
Club career
editAs a junior, Twelvetrees played for Pulborough, Horsham and Haywards Heath. He joined the Leicester Tigers academy from Leicester Lions in 2007, and moved to Bedford Blues for the 2008–09 season. After an outstanding season for Bedford, in which he scored 18 tries, 16 conversions and 13 penalties, he re-signed for Tigers in 2009.[6]
He made his first appearance for Leicester in the Heineken Cup on 11 October, filling in for Dan Hipkiss, who was ruled out just prior to kick-off. Despite making his debut with just 10-minutes' notice, he won Man of the Match, scoring a try in a 14-point haul.[7] Unfortunately, he was injured in his next match and ruled out for a large part of the season. He went on to make just six appearances in 2009–10, scoring four tries.
In the opening games of the 2010–11 season, Leicester lost Toby Flood, Jeremy Staunton and George Ford to injury and Twelvetrees was again thrust into the starting line-up, this time at fly-half.
On 28 January 2012, Twelvetrees signed a two-year deal to move from Leicester Tigers to play for Gloucester Rugby. However, on 27 September 2013, Twelvetrees signed a two-year contract extension to stay with Gloucester until the end of the 2015–16 season.[8] On 15 August 2014, Twelvetrees was named new club captain for Gloucester for the 2014–15 season.[9] In September 2017, he was awarded 'Try of the Week' for his week 4 try against Worcester Warriors.[10]
In October 2021, Twelvetrees was awarded a testimonial year in honour of his 10th season with the club[11]
On 27 April 2023, after 12 seasons at Gloucester, it was announced that Twelvetrees would join ambitious club Ealing Trailfinders in the RFU Championship for the 2023-24 season.[12] On 13 May 2024, Trailfinders became winners of the RFU Championship league for the 2023-24 season.[13]
On 28 June 2024, Twelvetrees announced his retirement from professional rugby at the end of the season.[14]
International career
editHe was called up for the second string national side, England Saxons, in 2011.[15]
A year later after leaving Leicester for Gloucester Twelvetrees was handed his first full international cap by Stuart Lancaster for England's Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland at Twickenham, scoring a try on his debut.[16] On 12 June 2013, following an impressive performance against Argentina, Twelvetrees was called up to the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia due to concerns about possible injuries sustained by the fly halves and centres prior to the tests.[17]
International tries
edit- As of 7 July 2019 [18]
| Try | Opposing team | Location | Venue | Competition | Date | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Scotland |
London, England | Twickenham Stadium | 2013 Six Nations | 2 February 2013 | Win | 38 – 18[19] |
| 2 |  Argentina |
Salta, Argentina | Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena | 2013 Summer Internationals | 8 June 2013 | Win | 32 – 3[20] |
| 3 | Argentina |
London, England | Twickenham Stadium | 2013 Autumn Internationals | 9 November 2013 | Win | 31 – 12[21] |
Coaching career
editOn 19 July 2024, following his retirement, Twelvetrees returns to Gloucester as he joins Championship side Hartpury University as their new Backs and Attack coach.[22]
References
edit- ^ "Aviva Premiership Rugby – Gloucester Rugby". web page. Premier Rugby. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ^ Hands, David (13 October 2009). "Leicester ponder whether to let Billy Twelvetrees put down roots". The Times. London. Retrieved 26 April 2010.[dead link]
- ^ Kitson, Robert (27 January 2012). "Billy Twelvetrees 'There are a lot of frustrations at Leicester'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
- ^ "Billy Twelvetrees – Official RFU England Profile". Rugby Football Union. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- ^ "Attacking Scrum - Wales Rugby Podcast for Welsh Rugby fans: Billy Twelvetrees and Frilly Knickers on Apple Podcasts".
- ^ "Leicester land fly-half Staunton". BBC Sport. 29 July 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
- ^ Turnbill, Simon (12 October 2009). "Leicester rescued by dream debutant". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
- ^ "Twelvetrees contract extension with Gloucester". BBC Sport. 27 September 2013.
- ^ "Billy Twelvetrees named new Gloucester club captain". Gloucester Rugby. 15 August 2014.
- ^ "Citizen Try of the Week – (Round 4 Winner)". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Billy Twelvetrees awarded Testimonial Year with Gloucester Rugby". Gloucester Rugby. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ "Welcome Billy Twelvetrees". Ealing Trailfinders. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ "Ealing Trailfinders crowned as champions of the 2023/24 Championship". Ultimate Rugby.
- ^ "Billy Twelvetrees: Ex-England and Gloucester player retires from rugby aged 35". BBC Sport. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ "England Saxons 45–17 Italy A". BBC News. 29 January 2011.
- ^ "Billy Twelvetrees to make England debut v Scotland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ "Twelvetrees joins Lions squad". planetrugby.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- ^ "Billy Twelvetrees". 7 July 2019.
- ^ "Six Nations: England 38–18 Scotland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ Mike Henson. "Argentina 3–32 England: Tourists brush Pumas aside in first Test". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ "England beat Argentina at home ahead of All Blacks test". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ "Billy Twelvetrees: Hartpury appoint ex-England back as coach". BBC Sport. 19 July 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2024.