Austin Healey facts for kids
| Birth name | Austin Sean Healey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 26 October 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Wallasey, Cheshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 13 st 10 lb (87 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Austin Sean Healey (born October 26, 1973) is a former English rugby union player. He was known for being able to play in many different positions. Austin played for the Leicester Tigers club team. He also represented his country, England, and the British & Irish Lions.
Austin Healey earned 51 caps (appearances) for England and 2 caps for the Lions. He played as a scrum half, fly-half, fullback, and wing. His ability to play different roles made him a valuable player, often coming on as a substitute. He was known for being very competitive and outspoken, which earned him the nickname "The Leicester Lip".
After he stopped playing rugby, Austin started a career in media.
Contents
Austin Healey's Rugby Career
Starting Out in Rugby
Austin Healey played for England's Under-21 team in 1992. He later played for England A and the Barbarians team. He started his club career at Waterloo and Orrell.
Healey first joined Leicester Tigers as a scrum half. He had also played as a wing and outside centre for Orrell.
Playing for England and the Lions
Austin made his first appearance for the full England team in 1997. This was during the Five Nations tournament against Ireland. He also went on tour with the British & Irish Lions in 1997, playing in two matches.
He played in the Five/Six Nations tournaments from 1998 to 2002. He also took part in the 1999 Rugby World Cup. In the 1999/2000 season, he was named Player of the Season for both Leicester Tigers and Allied Dunbar.
Changing Positions
Leicester coach Bob Dwyer moved Austin to the wing position. This was to make space for Fijian player Waisale Serevi at scrum half. After this, Austin was also chosen to play on the wing for England.
Later, Leicester's South African fly-half Joel Stransky got injured. Austin then switched to play as a fly-half. He did not play much in this position internationally. His only game as a fly-half for England was in 2000 against South Africa.
Heineken Cup Success
In 2001, Austin made a key play in the Heineken Cup final. This led to the winning try for Leicester. He started that match as a scrum half but moved to fly-half near the end. The next year, he scored a crucial try against Munster. This helped the Tigers win the cup again.
His great performance for the Tigers in 2001 led to him starting for England in the Six Nations. He was also picked for the British & Irish Lions tour to Australia. He played well in some games but missed out on more caps due to an injury.
Controversy and Versatility
During the 2001 Lions tour, Austin wrote a column for the Guardian. His comments about Australian player Justin Harrison caused some controversy. Harrison later played a key role in Australia winning the series. Some people thought Austin's comments motivated the Australian team.
After returning from Australia, Austin played in every game for England. He was rested for the summer 2002 tour to Argentina. He showed how versatile he was by starting at fullback, scrum half, and wing. He also came on as a substitute twice.
He returned to international games as a substitute in three autumn matches. England won all these games against Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Austin traveled to Australia as injury cover for the 2003 Rugby World Cup winning team. However, he was not officially added to the squad. This meant he did not receive a medal, even though he was there.
Final Seasons with Leicester
In the 2005/2006 season, Leicester Tigers finished at the top of their league. Austin had a memorable game against Wasps, scoring in the last minute to get a draw. However, Wasps defeated the Tigers in the final.
In the 2005/2006 season, Austin was made vice-captain of the club. He often captained the team from scrum half or fly half when other players were away on international duty. He played very well, sometimes taking the regular spots of Harry Ellis and Andy Goode. Leicester reached the Premiership final again but lost to Sale Sharks. Austin famously said he threw away his silver medal, saying he did not keep "losers medals."
Life After Rugby
After retiring from playing rugby in 2006, Austin Healey started a new career. He worked as a banker and continued to be a rugby analyst for the BBC.
Television Appearances
Austin Healey has appeared on several television shows:
- He competed in the sixth series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2008. He finished in 4th place.
- He appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? with Gary Lineker in December 2008. They won £50,000 for charity.
- In March 2009, he presented The Big Tackle on ITV. This show aimed to help rugby clubs across the country. He even visited his old club, Birkenhead Park.
- He was a team captain on the show Hole in the Wall.
- Austin hosted the ITV game show The Fuse, which started in July 2009.
- In 2011, he appeared on a celebrity edition of The Chase with Joe Pasquale. They won the final chase against Shaun Wallace.
- He also appeared on the BBC game show Mastermind in January 2013. His special subject was Everton Football Club.
Autobiography
Austin Healey wrote a book about his life called Lions, Tigers and Roses. It was published in 2001.
See also
- List of top English points scorers and try scorers
