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Steffon Armitage

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Steffon Armitage
Steffon Armitage (2021)
Birth nameSteffon Elvis Armitage
Date of birth (1985-09-20) 20 September 1985 (age 39)
Place of birthSan Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight106 kg (16 st 10 lb)
SchoolIvybridge Community College
Notable relative(s)Delon Armitage (brother)
Guy Armitage (brother)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker, Number Eight
Youth career
Richmond
Racing Rugby Club de Nice
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2004–2006 Saracens 5 (15)
2006–2011 London Irish 136 (128)
2011–2016 Toulon 161 (170)
2016–2019 Pau 62 (25)
2019–2022 Biarritz 73 (35)
2022– Nice 20 (15)
Correct as of 24 April 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2008 England A
2009–2010 England 5 (0)
National sevens team
Years Team Comps
England

Steffon Armitage (born 20 September 1985) is an English professional rugby union player who currently plays for French club Stade Niçois.

Early life and career

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Steffon Armitage (2015)

Born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago in 1985,[1] Armitage grew up in the south of France, where he and his brothers played for Rugby Nice Côte d'Azur Université-Racing.

Armitage began his professional rugby career at Saracens, before signing for London Irish in 2006.[1] Armitage started for London Irish in the 2009 Premiership final against Leicester Tigers, which the Tigers won 10–9.[2]

National team

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At international level, Armitage was a member of the England Saxons squad that won the 2008 Churchill Cup.[3] On 1 July 2008 he was selected to represent the England Saxons again.[4] Armitage was called up for the England elite squad ahead of the 2009 Six Nations Championship to replace the injured Lewis Moody,[5] making his full international debut in England's 36–11 win against Italy in the opening game.[6] He started both matches in England's drawn two test series against Argentina in June 2009.[7] Armitage went on to win two further England caps in the 2010 Six Nations, coming off the bench in England's wins over Wales and Italy.[8][9]

Move to France

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In May 2011, Armitage was granted an early release from his contract with London Irish to allow him to join French club RC Toulon.[10] In his first season in France, Armitage scored 7 tries in 27 matches. Armitage was in the starting 15 for 23 matches, and a substitute in 4.[11][12] During this season, Armitage played for Toulon in the finals of the Top 14 and the Amlin Challenge Cup.[13]

In July 2012, Armitage was provisionally suspended for abnormal drug test results.,[14] but was cleared to play all the games of the new season with Toulon, both in the Top 14 and Heineken Cup. In November, Armitage was cleared of the doping charge.[15] On 19 November, Armitage was designated as best foreign player in the Top 14 by the Oscars of Midi Olympique (French Rugby Newspaper). In May 2013 he played as a replacement as Toulon won the 2013 Heineken Cup Final by 16–15 against Clermont Auvergne.[16]

Armitage won a second Heineken Cup with Toulon playing against Saracens in May 2014.[17] On 26 May 2014, Armitage was named 2013–14 ERC European Player of the Year.[18][19] In that same year, Armitage was part of the Toulon side that beat Castres to win the Top 14 title.[20]

In 2015, Armitage won a third European title with RC Toulon,[21] and was again on the shortlist for European player of the year, losing out narrowly to Nick Abendanon who plays for Clermont Auvergne, the team Toulon defeated in the final.

Armitage plays as a flanker and a number 8. He is known for his strength, speed and his effectiveness in ruck turnovers. Armitage has been considered to be one of the best players in the world due to his technical ability at the breakdown and his capacity to win a high number of turnovers each game. Given the English national team's lack of players with Armitage's skill set, many experts have argued that the 'exceptional circumstances' clause in England's policy banning overseas based players should be invoked to allow the triple European Championship winner to represent England, despite playing his club rugby at Toulon.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28]

Despite speculation about a possible return to the English Premiership, Armitage opted to move to another Top 14 team Pau in the summer of 2016 seemingly ending any possibility of earning more international caps for England.

Later career

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On 9 July 2019, the San Diego Legion announced that Armitage would join them for the 2020 season in Major League Rugby in the United States,[29] but on 24 September 2019, the San Diego Legion announced it had released Armitage in the wake of his conviction for sexual assault and his suspended sentence, after he had groped a woman in 2018 in France.[30]

After being released from his San Diego Legion contract, Steffon signed a contract to remain in France, continuing his career with Pro D2 side Biarritz Olympique For the 2022-23 season he rejoined his boyhood club Stade Niçois, in the French third division.[31]

Honours

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Team

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Toulon

European Cup Winner - 2013, 2014, 2015

Top 14 Winner - 2014

Individual

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European Player of the Year - 2014

References

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  1. ^ a b "Steffon Armitage | Rugby Union | Players and Officials | ESPN Scrum". En.espn.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  2. ^ Palmer, Bryn (16 May 2009). "BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | English | Leicester 10-9 London Irish". BBC News. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  3. ^ "England Saxons put Scots to sword to retain Barclays Churchill Cup". Rugby Football Union. 21 June 2008. Archived from the original on 16 November 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  4. ^ "Tindall left out of England squad". BBC. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  5. ^ "Armitage replaces injured Moody". BBC. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  6. ^ "England 36–11 Italy". BBC. 7 February 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  7. ^ "Argentina 24–22 England". BBC. 13 June 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  8. ^ "BBC Sport - Rugby Union - Chris Ashton & Shontayne Hape win England squad calls". BBC News. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - Statsguru - Player analysis - Steffon Armitage - Test matches". En.espn.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Steffon Armitage to leave London Irish for Toulon - BBC Sport". Bbc.com. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  11. ^ "Steffon Armitage designated as best foreign player". Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  12. ^ "Steffon Armitage Profile". Itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  13. ^ "Steffon Elvis ARMITAGE - RCT - Rugby Club Toulonnais". Rctoulon.com. 20 September 1985. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  14. ^ "Steffon Armitage provisionally suspended after drug test result". BBC Sport. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  15. ^ "Steffon Armitage cleared of doping charge by French Rugby". BBC Sport. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  16. ^ "Toulon claim Heineken Cup glory". ESPN. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  17. ^ Paul Rees (24 May 2014). "Toulon and superb Jonny Wilkinson crush Saracens in Heineken Cup final | Sport". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  18. ^ "Steffon Armitage named ERC European Player of the Year". BBC. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  19. ^ "Steffon Armitage of Heineken Cup champions, RC Toulon, has been named ERC European Player of the Year 2014". ERC. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  20. ^ "Jonny Wilkinson ends career with Toulon victory in Top 14 final - BBC Sport". Bbc.com. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  21. ^ Cole, Rob (2 May 2015). "REPORT: Toulon make history with three in a row : European Rugby Champions Cup (EPCR)". Epcrugby.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  22. ^ "Eddie Jones: Steffon Armitage should have been called upon". Irishtimes.com. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  23. ^ "Steffon Armitage's form for Toulon is so good it is crying out for England overseas rule to be broken - just this once". The Telegraph. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  24. ^ "Stuart Lancaster and England should find a way to select Steffon Armitage | Robert Kitson | Sport". The Guardian. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  25. ^ McLeman, Neil (4 October 2015). "Toulon coach Bernard Laporte SLAMS England selection policy after World Cup elimination - Mirror Online". Mirror. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  26. ^ "Jeremy Guscott: Stuart Lancaster must not bow to PRL double-standards". The Rugby Paper. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  27. ^ Eddie Butler (2 May 2015). "Toulon's Steffon Armitage adds yet more mystery to his England exile | Eddie Butler | Sport". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  28. ^ "Stuart Barnes: England cannot afford to overlook Steffon Armitage | Rugby Union News". Sky Sports. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  29. ^ "SD LEGION | European Rugby Player of the Year Announces Commitment to Play in Major League Rugby for San Diego Legion". SD LEGION. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  30. ^ "San Diego rugby team releases player after sexual assault conviction". fox5sandiego. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  31. ^ "Rugby. Top 14 : Steffon Armitage va quitter Biarritz pour rejoindre Nice, en troisième division". 28 April 2022.
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