Kyran Bracken
Encyclopedia
Kyran Paul Patrick Bracken MBE
(born 22 November 1974 in Dublin, Ireland
) is a former English rugby union
footballer who played at scrum-half for Saracens, Bristol and Waterloo R.F.C.
He won a total of 51 England
caps and captained the team on three occasions, retiring from international rugby in 2004.
His father was a dentist and his mother had played hockey for Ireland. They originally lived in Skerries
in north County Dublin but moved to England when Kyran was four.
He was brought up in Liverpool
and was educated by the Irish Christian Brothers at St. Edward's College
, and later by the Jesuits at Stonyhurst College
in Lancashire, where he was coached by former England Rugby Union Head Coach, Brian Ashton. He attended a trial for Liverpool F.C.
and scored three goals. He also flirted with the idea of playing rugby league
for St Helens RLFC.
After school he read Law at the University of Bristol
whom he represented at rugby union and later qualified as a solicitor
. He was turned down by Ireland
as 'not good enough' but signed up by Bristol.
Bracken made his England debut in November 1993 against the All Blacks
. However, a stamp from Jamie Joseph
seriously injured his ankle, putting him out of action for three months and leaving him with a permanent weakness. He started the 1994 Five Nations
, but was dropped half-way through in favour of Dewi Morris
. He missed the summer tour to South Africa
, studying for law exams, but played in the 1995 Five Nations. Injury kept him out of the 1995 World Cup.
Kyran joined Saracens in 1996 and was part of the team that won the Tetley's Bitter Cup against Wasps
in 1998.
He missed out on selection for the 1997 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa in favour of Matt Dawson
and Austin Healey
, but was called up as injury replacement for Rob Howley
but did not play in the tests.
He then became an irregular scrum half for England, with Dawson generally having the upper hand but being frequently injured. Bracken himself had a serious back injury that kept him out for most of the 1999 - 2000 season, including the 1999 World Cup.
He missed out on selection for 2001 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia, instead captaining England on a three match development tour of North America. In 2003 he played in the summer tour beating Australia
and New Zealand
. He appeared four times for England during the 2003 World Cup
. He won his 50th cap against Wales
in the quarter-final, and gained his last cap in the semi-final against France
.
Bracken was also the player which drew groans from the cast of Friends after being tackled in the episode "the one with all the Rugby".
He and his wife, Victoria, have three young sons. Charlie, Jack and Lochlan.
, with partner Melanie Lambert. In the semi-final he received the highest score in the history of Dancing on Ice at that time (29.5 out of a possible 30) matched only by rival Clare Buckfield the next week. He was then was voted into the final alongside actress Clare Buckfield
and former Blue
member Duncan James
.
He won the final on 17 March 2007 after a performance which included the required element of "flying" on wires and a final performance of Bolero.
On the 24th March 2007 he won the special edition of Dancing On Ice 'The Champion of Champions', after repeating his record 29.5 point score.
He is currently on tour with Holiday on Ice in their show romanza.
Bracken made an appearance during preparations for Dancing on Ice 2008, Week 5, to help contestant and friend Steve Backley with his performance.
After finishing the tour with Holiday on Ice Bracken has confirmed he will also be appearing in the Dancing On Ice Live tour 2008.
He also created his own Ice Party, held at the Hand Stadium, home of Clevedon Town
, which starred himself, Clare Buckfield
, Suzanne Shaw
and many world famous skaters.
improving the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in Britain and Ireland. He is also an Ambassador of the Royal National Children's Foundation (formerly the Joint Educational trust) which helps support vulnerable, disadvantaged young people at state and independent boarding schools throughout the UK.
In 2009 he presented awards for Amersham and Wycombe college in their first awards ceremony.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 22 November 1974 in Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
) is a former English rugby union
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...
footballer who played at scrum-half for Saracens, Bristol and Waterloo R.F.C.
Waterloo R.F.C.
Waterloo Football Club is an English Rugby Union team based at St Anthonys Road, Blundellsands, Merseyside. It celebrated its 125th season in 2007/08, having been founded in 1882 by brothers Sidney and Harry Hall and George Abercrombie. From 1882 until 1884 the club was known as Serpentine after...
He won a total of 51 England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
caps and captained the team on three occasions, retiring from international rugby in 2004.
His father was a dentist and his mother had played hockey for Ireland. They originally lived in Skerries
Skerries, Dublin
-The 20th century and today:Historically, Skerries has been a thriving fishing port and a major center of hand embroidery. In the late 20th century, it became a resort town , and another suburb for commuters to the city of Dublin....
in north County Dublin but moved to England when Kyran was four.
He was brought up in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and was educated by the Irish Christian Brothers at St. Edward's College
St. Edward's College
St. Edward's College is a voluntary aided, Catholic school in the UK located in the West Derby suburb of Liverpool. The institution was formerly a boys grammar school run by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, known widely as The Irish Christian Brothers...
, and later by the Jesuits at Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...
in Lancashire, where he was coached by former England Rugby Union Head Coach, Brian Ashton. He attended a trial for Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
and scored three goals. He also flirted with the idea of playing rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
for St Helens RLFC.
After school he read Law at the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
whom he represented at rugby union and later qualified as a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
. He was turned down by Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
as 'not good enough' but signed up by Bristol.
Bracken made his England debut in November 1993 against the All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
. However, a stamp from Jamie Joseph
Jamie Joseph
James Whitinui Joseph is a former All Black flanker.Joseph's All Blacks career spanned 30 matches including 20 tests from 1992 to 1995 including the 1995 World Cup....
seriously injured his ankle, putting him out of action for three months and leaving him with a permanent weakness. He started the 1994 Five Nations
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
, but was dropped half-way through in favour of Dewi Morris
Dewi Morris
Dewi Morris is a former rugby union footballer, who played scrum half for England.Morris made his England debut in 1988 against Australia. He was dropped in 1990 in favour of Richard Hill, but returned to the England side in 1992 and was the Lions scrum-half in 1993...
. He missed the summer tour to South Africa
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
, studying for law exams, but played in the 1995 Five Nations. Injury kept him out of the 1995 World Cup.
Kyran joined Saracens in 1996 and was part of the team that won the Tetley's Bitter Cup against 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...
in 1998.
He missed out on selection for the 1997 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa in favour of Matt Dawson
Matt Dawson
Matthew James Sutherland "Daws" Dawson, MBE is a retired English rugby union player who played scrum half for Wasps and Northampton Saints. During his international career he toured with the British and Irish Lions three times and was part of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup winning side...
and Austin Healey
Austin Healey
Austin Sean Healey is a former English rugby union player, who played as a utility back for Leicester Tigers, and has represented the England national rugby union team and the British Lions....
, but was called up as injury replacement for Rob Howley
Rob Howley
Robert Howley is a former Welsh rugby union footballer. He was considered one of the greatest ever scrum-halves and gained 59 caps for Wales, 22 of them as captain.Howley made his Wales debut in February 1996...
but did not play in the tests.
He then became an irregular scrum half for England, with Dawson generally having the upper hand but being frequently injured. Bracken himself had a serious back injury that kept him out for most of the 1999 - 2000 season, including the 1999 World Cup.
He missed out on selection for 2001 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia, instead captaining England on a three match development tour of North America. In 2003 he played in the summer tour beating Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
and New Zealand
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
. He appeared four times for England during the 2003 World Cup
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
. He won his 50th cap against Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
in the quarter-final, and gained his last cap in the semi-final against France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
.
Bracken was also the player which drew groans from the cast of Friends after being tackled in the episode "the one with all the Rugby".
He and his wife, Victoria, have three young sons. Charlie, Jack and Lochlan.
Dancing on Ice
Kyran starred in and won ITV1's celebrity ice dancing competition Dancing on IceDancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...
, with partner Melanie Lambert. In the semi-final he received the highest score in the history of Dancing on Ice at that time (29.5 out of a possible 30) matched only by rival Clare Buckfield the next week. He was then was voted into the final alongside actress Clare Buckfield
Clare Buckfield
Clare Buckfield is an English actress, best known for playing the role of Jenny Porter in the BBC sitcom 2point4 children for most of the nineties and Natasha Stevens in the CBBC series Grange Hill.-Biography:...
and former Blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
member Duncan James
Duncan James
Duncan Matthew James Inglis is an English singer, actor and television presenter. He is best known as a member of the boyband Blue.-Early life:...
.
He won the final on 17 March 2007 after a performance which included the required element of "flying" on wires and a final performance of Bolero.
On the 24th March 2007 he won the special edition of Dancing On Ice 'The Champion of Champions', after repeating his record 29.5 point score.
He is currently on tour with Holiday on Ice in their show romanza.
Bracken made an appearance during preparations for Dancing on Ice 2008, Week 5, to help contestant and friend Steve Backley with his performance.
After finishing the tour with Holiday on Ice Bracken has confirmed he will also be appearing in the Dancing On Ice Live tour 2008.
He also created his own Ice Party, held at the Hand Stadium, home of Clevedon Town
Clevedon Town F.C.
Clevedon Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Clevedon, North Somerset. They currently play in the Southern League Division One South & West.-History:...
, which starred himself, Clare Buckfield
Clare Buckfield
Clare Buckfield is an English actress, best known for playing the role of Jenny Porter in the BBC sitcom 2point4 children for most of the nineties and Natasha Stevens in the CBBC series Grange Hill.-Biography:...
, Suzanne Shaw
Suzanne Shaw
Suzanne Shaw is an English actress, singer and television personality...
and many world famous skaters.
Charitable work
He is an Honorary President of the rugby charity Wooden SpoonWooden Spoon Society
Wooden Spoon is a children's charity founded in 1983, when the England rugby team received the Wooden Spoon in the 5 Nations. Spoon is dedicated to helping children and young people who are disadvantaged physically, mentally or socially by using sport as a method of improving lives while...
improving the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in Britain and Ireland. He is also an Ambassador of the Royal National Children's Foundation (formerly the Joint Educational trust) which helps support vulnerable, disadvantaged young people at state and independent boarding schools throughout the UK.
In 2009 he presented awards for Amersham and Wycombe college in their first awards ceremony.