Aadel Kardooni

Aadel Kardooni

Birth name	Aadel Kardooni
Date of birth	(1968-05-17) 17 May 1968
Place of birth	Tehran, Iran
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	12 st 2 lb (76 kg)
School	Clayesmore School Sherborne School
University	De Montfort University
Occupation(s)	Futures broker
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-half Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) North Dorset RFC () 2002-2003 Rugby Lions 5 (0) Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 1987-1988 London Wasps () 1988-1997 Leicester Tigers 300 () 1997-1998 Bedford Blues 16 (0) 1998-1999 Blackheath F.C. 10 (5) Correct as of 21 September 2009 International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1992 England A 2 Correct as of 21 September 2009

Aadel Kardooni (Persian: عادل کردونی, born 17 May 1968 in Tehran) is a British-Iranian former professional rugby union player.

He is the first Iranian rugby union player to ever play professionally.

Playing career

Iranian born Aadel left his homeland to avoid national service, and eventually wound up in Leicester where he became Tigers' long-serving scrum half. A very agile scrum half with a bullet pass, Aadel was a regular in the Midlands and England A squads but a full cap eluded him throughout his career. Aadel could always be relied on throughout the early to mid nineties but struggled when the game became professional, and slipped down the pecking order behind Austin Healey and Jamie Hamilton before moving on to pastures new. His last appearance in a Tigers shirt was as a late substitution in the Pilkington Cup final triumph over Sale in 1997.