James Buckland
Encyclopedia
James Buckland is a rugby union
player who plays at hooker for London Irish
in the Aviva Premiership.
Born and raised in Aylesbury
, Buckland started playing at Aylesbury RFC. Whilst playing for his home town club, he was spotted and offered a contract with the Northampton Saints
. He did not make an appearance for their senior team and later signed with the Leicester Tigers
during the summer of 2002.
That same summer, Buckland represented England at the 2002 IRB U21 World Championships.
During his spell with the Tigers, Buckland featured in the 2007 Heineken Cup Final
. He also represented the England Saxons
at the 2006 Churchill Cup
.
Buckland joined London Wasps
for the 2007–08 season. Buckland signed for London Irish
in the summer of 2008.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player who plays at hooker for London Irish
London Irish
London Irish RFC is an English rugby union club based in Sunbury, Surrey, where the senior squad train, the youth teams and senior academy play home games, and the club maintain their administrative offices. The senior squad play home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading and compete in the top...
in the Aviva Premiership.
Born and raised in Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
, Buckland started playing at Aylesbury RFC. Whilst playing for his home town club, he was spotted and offered a contract with the Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591....
. He did not make an appearance for their senior team and later signed with the Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
during the summer of 2002.
That same summer, Buckland represented England at the 2002 IRB U21 World Championships.
During his spell with the Tigers, Buckland featured in the 2007 Heineken Cup Final
2007 Heineken Cup Final
The 2007 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2006–07 Heineken Cup, the 12th season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 20 May 2007 at Twickenham Stadium in London. The match was contested by the Leicester Tigers and London Wasps, both of England. Wasps...
. He also represented the England Saxons
England Saxons
England Saxons is the current name of England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England A...
at the 2006 Churchill Cup
2006 Churchill Cup
The 2006 Churchill Cup is a Rugby Union competition, typically between the second teams of various top tier international Rugby nations and the first teams of traditionally less prominent teams, such as Canada and the USA. It first began on June 3, 2006 and ended on June 17. The 2006 competition...
.
Buckland joined London Wasps
London Wasps
London Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999...
for the 2007–08 season. Buckland signed for London Irish
London Irish
London Irish RFC is an English rugby union club based in Sunbury, Surrey, where the senior squad train, the youth teams and senior academy play home games, and the club maintain their administrative offices. The senior squad play home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading and compete in the top...
in the summer of 2008.