Lee Mears
England
player portrait
Full name Lee Andrew Mears
Born March 5, 1979, Torquay
Current age 45 years 14 days
Major teams Bath Rugby, British and Irish Lions, England Saxons, England, England XV
Position Hooker
Height 5 ft 9 in
Weight 220 lb

Test career
Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Won Lost Draw %
All Tests 2005-2012 43 17 26 5 1 0 0 0 17 25 1 40.69
England 2005-2012 42 16 26 5 1 0 0 0 17 24 1 41.66
British and Irish Lions 2009-2009 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Five/Six Nations 2006-2012 20 8 12 0 0 0 0 0 11 9 0 55
IRB Rugby World Cup 2007-2011 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 100

Career statistics
Test debut England v Samoa at Twickenham, Nov 26, 2005 match details
Last Test South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Jun 23, 2012 match details
Test Statsguru Main menu | Career summary | Match list | Most points | Most tries | Tournament list

English Premiership
Team Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Won Lost Draw %
All matches 1999-2013 177 114 63 50 10 0 0 0 102 68 7 59.6
Bath Rugby 1999-2013 177 114 63 50 10 0 0 0 102 68 7 59.6
Profile

Lee Mears was a hugely successful hooker for England and Bath who retired from the game in 2013.

Mears secured a starting berth with Bath following several years as understudy to both Jonathan Humphreys and Mark Regan. He began his career with Bath in 1998, whilst also making headway in the England youth system.Mears helped the Saxons to the Churchill Cup title in 2005 and was rewarded with a call up to the autumn internationals the same year. He made his international debut against Samoa at Twickenham.

Mears was selected for the 2007 World Cup on the back of another consistent season with Bath, in which they reached the final of the European Challenge Cup, but found himself behind Regan in the pecking order. But with youth given its head the season after, Mears took the hooker berth for the final two fixtures of the 2008 Six Nations. Mears then had to compete with George Chuter and Dylan Hartley for the England hooker's shirt but kept it throughout the 2008 autumn Tests and the 2009 Six Nations.

Selected for the 2009 Lions tour of South Africa and made the XV for the first Test in Durban. He struggled with his lineouts as Victor Matfield picked his throws with ease and after the first Test defeat Mears did not play in the remaining Tests as the Lions conceded the series 2-1.

After the Lions tour, Mears found himself banished to the international wilderness in favour of Hartley and the resurgent Steve Thompson. Ahead of the World Cup, Mears was back in the mix as he added to his Test cap tally with some appearances from the bench.

Hartley and Thompson were England's primary hookers for the World Cup and Mears' time was restricted to just one appearance from the bench which came against Romania. With England experiencing huge upheavel after the failed campaign, new boss Stuart Lancaster kept the faith with Mears and retained him in the EPS but he found it hard to break into the squad.

After substitute appearances for England in their first and third Tests against South Africa, Mears announced his international retirement after the squad returned home.

Following a long and successful career Mears was forced to announce his retirement from all rugby in February 2013. An abnormality known to occur in some athletes was discovered during a cardiac screening, forcing Mears to announce his retirment at the age of 33.

Latest Articles
Heart condition forces Mears to retire (Feb 11, 2013) Six sign on with Bath (Dec 21, 2012) Hala'Ufia wins five-match ban appeal (Dec 7, 2012) Hodgson and Mears retire from Test rugby (Jun 28, 2012) Brooker gets England call (Feb 20, 2012) Lee Mears news and articles (20) »
Latest Photos
Sep 20, 2011
Lee Mears stretches for the ball during England training
Lee Mears stretches for the ball during England training
©  Getty Images
Sep 7, 2011
Alex Corbisiero, Lewis Moody and Lee Mears inspect damage to the AMI Stadium
Alex Corbisiero, Lewis Moody and Lee Mears inspect damage to the AMI Stadium
©  Getty Images
Sep 7, 2011
Alex Corbisiero, Lewis Moody and Lee Mears inspect the damage to the Lancaster Park pitch
Alex Corbisiero, Lewis Moody and Lee Mears inspect the damage to the Lancaster Park pitch
©  Getty Images
Aug 11, 2011
England's Alex Corbisiero, Lee Mears and Steve Thompson prop each other up during training
England's Alex Corbisiero, Lee Mears and Steve Thompson prop each other up during training
©  Getty Images
Lee Mears rugby photos (25) »

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.