Hal Luscombe
Rugby player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Haldane 'Hal' Naude Luscombe is a Welsh former international rugby union who played as a centre or wing. During his career, Luscombe played for Newport Gwent Dragons, Harlequins, and Worcester Warriors. Luscombe also represented Wales.
23 February 1981
| Born | Haldane Naude Luscombe 23 February 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 101 kg (15 st 13 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Diocesan College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Professional career
Luscombe attended Diocesan College, Cape Town. He has also played for the Wales under-21 team.
Luscombe moved to Wales, initially having been scouted by then-head coach Graham Henry from a recommendation by Jake White. The deal fell through, but Luscombe still managed to sign a contract with Newport RFC, and made his debut in November 2001.[1] Luscombe then played for the Dragons after the formation of Welsh regional rugby.
Luscombe made his Wales debut in a warm up match against Scotland ahead of the 2003 Rugby World Cup.[1] He won a Grand Slam with Wales during the 2005 Six Nations Championship, appearing three times before suffering a hamstring injury.
In 2006, Luscombe moved from the Dragons to Harlequins, where he would spend two seasons.[2]
It was announced in March 2008 that Luscombe would be joining Worcester Warriors for the 2008–09 Premiership Rugby season on a two-year contract. He would be joining up with his former national and Newport Gwent Dragons coach, Mike Ruddock.[3] Luscombe made his first appearance for the Warriors in January 2009.[4] Unfortunately Luscombe only played 6 times during that campaign having had a series of injury problems. On 24 July 2009 it was announced that he had retired from professional rugby with immediate effect. The 28-year-old was released from his Sixways contract by mutual consent.[5]
"Hal is a terrific guy who has been a fantastic player for years. I would like to thank him for his service and pay tribute to his outstanding character and performances over the years, most notably as a member of the Wales Grand Slam winning team of 2005." – Mike Ruddock