Rob Cook (rugby union)
| Date of birth | 7 July 1984 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Lincoln, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 89 kg (14 st 0 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Oakham School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Worcester University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rob Cook (born 7 July 1984 in Lincoln) is an English professional rugby union player who played for Premiership side Gloucester as a fullback. Former Deputy-Director of Sport and Director of Rugby at King Edward VI Grammar School Stratford-Upon-Avon.[1]
Early life
[edit]Rob Cook was born on 7 July 1984 in Lincoln, England.[1] He attended Oakham School for two years in their 6th Form.[2] In this time, he captained the rugby, cricket and football 1st teams. He won the Daily Mail Cup at Twickenham in 2002, scoring his first try in the process.[3] He attended Worcester University, where he read sports studies and played for the rugby team.[4] He gained Representative Honours with England Universities, Midlands U18s and England Counties.[5]
Club career
[edit]Cook joined Nuneaton R.F.C. in 2007. He remained with them for two seasons (2007/8 and 2008/9), making 51 first team appearances at Full Back or Fly-half and scoring 140 points.[5][6] While at the Nuns he helped them to gain promotion to National Division Two when the club won the National Division Three North league title in 2008–09 as well as gaining selection for the England Counties XV due to his good form.[7][8][9]
On 7 May 2009, Cook signed for RFU Championship side Cornish Pirates.[10] Initially on the wing, he quickly moved to fly-half, before switching to full back where he remained for the rest of his Pirates tenure.[4] He was a prolific points scorer. In each of his three seasons with the club (2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12), he was their highest scoring player, accumulating over 1,000 points.[11] In 2011/12 he was named in the Championship "Dream Team" as he racked up a thousand points for the Pirates and over one hundred first team appearances.[12]
Initially linked with a move to Sale Sharks,[13] he signed a contract extension with Pirates.[14] He rescinded this deal to play in the Premiership[11] joining Gloucester Rugby in July 2012.[12] On 18 October 2013, Cook signed a two-year contract extension to stay with Gloucester until the end of the 2015–16 season.[15]
He has been known for his unusual stance before attempting a conversion or penalty.[4]
Honours
[edit]Nuneaton
- National Division Three North champions: 2008–09
Cornish Pirates
- RFU Championship runner-up (2 times): 2010–11, 2011–12
Malvern RFC
- Midlands 2 West (South) runner-up: 2017–18
- North Midlands Shield champions: 2017-18[16]
County/Representative
- Selected for Midlands Under 18's
- Selected for England Universities
- Selected for England Counties XV: 2009[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Gloucester Player Biog". Gloucester Rugby. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ "Gloucester Rugby: Rob Cook's confidence grows ahead of Harlequins test". This is Gloucestershire. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ "OO Rob Cook- debut for Gloucester Rugby". Oakham School. 27 September 2012. Archived from the original on 23 April 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ a b c "Rob Cook – Full Back / Fly Half". Cornish Pirates. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Nuneaton Current Squad". Nuneaton R.F.C. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ "Rob Cook Record by competition". Rugby Statbunker. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ "National League Three North 2008-09". englandrugby.com. 16 May 2009.
- ^ "Nuns look to celebrate title glory in style". Coventry Telegraph. 24 April 2009.
- ^ a b "England Counties squad". rolling-maul.com. 27 May 2007.
- ^ "Two More New Faces". Cornish Pirates. 7 May 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Gloucester sign Cornish Pirates full-back Rob Cook". BBC. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Rob Cook joins Gloucester Rugby from Cornish Pirates". Gloucester Rugby. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ "Sale rumoured to be targeting the Cornish Pirates goal kicking full back Rob Cook". 16 March 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ "Blow for Pirates as points machine Cook joins Premiership club". This is Cornwall. 12 July 1012. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ "Cook contract extension at Gloucester". BBC Sport. 18 October 2013.
- ^ "North Midlands Shield – North Mids RFU". North Mids RFU. Retrieved 23 May 2018.