John Novak (rugby union)
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| Full name | Michael John Novak | ||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 27 September 1947 Kineton, Warwickshire, England | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Michael John Novak (born 27 September 1947) is an English-born professor of periodontics and former rugby union international for England. He has been based in the United States since the 1980s.[1]
Novak was born in Kineton, Warwickshire, the son of a Czechoslovak soldier stationed in the area. The family later settled in Eastbourne and he attended Eastbourne Grammar, breaking into the Sussex county side at age 19.[2]
A strongly built winger, Novak switched to Surrey after moving to London to study dentistry and played club rugby for local team Harlequins.[2] It was from Harlequins that he was called into the England side and he was capped three times during the 1970 Five Nations Championship.[3] He scored a try on debut against Wales at Twickenham Stadium.[4]