Tim Rodber

Timothy Andrew Keith Rodber (born 2 July 1969) is an English former rugby union footballer who played at Number eight, flanker or lock for Northampton Saints, England, and the British and Irish Lions.

Tim Rodber
Birth nameTimothy Andrew Keith Rodber
Date of birth (1969-07-02) 2 July 1969
Place of birthRichmond, Yorkshire, England
Height1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight111 kg (17 st 7 lb; 245 lb)
SchoolChurcher's College
UniversityOxford Brookes University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker / Number eight / Lock
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
Oxford Old Boys
Petersfield RFC
Northampton		 ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1988-2001 Northampton 235 ()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)

1992-1999
1997		 England B
England
British and Irish Lions
44
2
(25)
National sevens team(s)
Years Team Comps
1993 England 1993 Sevens World Cup

Background

Rodber excelled at rugby from an early age, representing his school,[1] as well as local sides Petersfield R.F.C. and Oxford Old Boys. He attended Churcher's College and studied biology at Oxford Polytechnic (now Oxford Brookes University) on Army scholarships.[2]

Rodber was a Captain in the Green Howards infantry regiment of the British Army and remained so even after rugby turned professional.[3] He resigned in 2001 after retiring from the sport.[4]

Playing career

In 1987 Rodber joined the Northampton Saints academy and would go on to become club captain.

Whilst at Northampton he started in the victorious 2000 Heineken Cup Final as they defeated Munster.[5]

International

He made his debut for England in the 25–7 victory over Scotland in the 1992 Five Nations Championship.

Good performances including helping England to win the 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens title.[6]

On the 1994 England tour to South Africa Rodber became one of the few Englishmen in the 1990s to be sent off when he was given a red card in a tour game against Eastern Province, when he reacted to a stamp on teammate Jon Callard.[4] However, the same tour saw Rodber play a vital role in one of England's best away performance of the decade during the 32–15 win in Pretoria on that same tour. "Has one ever seen an England team glisten in a ball-game with such a shimmering and sustained diamond brightness?" purred Frank Keating. "Rodber and his forwards were quite stupendous from first to last."

Rodber earned selection to the 1997 British Lions tour to South Africa. Rodber was one of the stand out performers during the tour. He captained the midweek side against Mpumalanga. He was selected at No.8 for the first two Tests, both of which the Lions won to take the series 2–1. Some felt this selection wss expected before the tour,[7] but others felt it was helped by injury to Wales' Scott Quinnell.

However, injury dogged his career.

Rodber was selected for England for the 1999 Rugby World Cup and was a replacement for the losing quarter final.[8]

Rodber retired at the end of the 2000/01 season.

Post-retirement

Rodber went into management after retiring and held executive posts including successful stints as regional COO and CEO of Williams Lea.[9] He worked for Middleton Advisors until mid 2013.[10] In July 2013 he was appointed CEO of global workspace providers, Instant.[11]

References
  1. Old Churcherian Magazine - Spring 2009
  2. "Rugby Union: Double life of an officer and a hard man". The Independent. 19 February 1994.
  3. "Rugby Union: You and whose army? Rodber's". The Independent. 13 December 1998.
  4. "Rodber: I wasn't up to captaincy". Evening Standard. 4 May 2001.
  5. "Saints secure historic victory". BBC. 27 May 2000. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  6. "Sport Editors: Magnificent Sevens". BBC. 24 May 2007.
  7. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/sport/british-amp-irish-lions-can-take-inspiration-from-the-class-of-1997-in-south-africa-j03j0cfjg
  8. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/rugby_world_cup/teams/england/483381.stm
  9. "Williams Lea announces new CEO, Americas". 5 January 2010.
  10. Middleton Advisors - Tim Rodber Archived 23 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  11. https://www.instantoffices.com/en/about-us/the-leadership-team
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