Neil Best
Encyclopedia
Neil Best is a rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 footballer, He plays for Worcester Warriors and the Irish national team
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...

.

Best was a relative late comer to rugby, starting his career with Malone RFC
Malone RFC
Malone RFC is a rugby union club based in Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It is currently in the Second Division of the All-Ireland League. The club is affiliated with the Ulster Branch, itself part of the Irish Rugby Football Union...

. He has a BSc and MA in chemical engineering. He scored 7 tries for Ulster in 2006 – three in the Heineken Cup and four in the Celtic League.

He made his Senior international début for Ireland as a replacement v New Zealand in November 2005. Also in November 2005, he scored his 1st Test try for v Romania
Romania national rugby union team
The Romania national rugby union team , nicknamed The Oaks , is the representative side of Romania in rugby union. Long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations, they have participated in all six Rugby World Cups, and currently compete in the first division of the...

.

His form for Ulster and during the summer tour to Australia and New Zealand saw Best included in the Ireland squad for the 2006 Autumn Internationals. He was named man of the match in Ireland's 21–6 victory against Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...

 at Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...

.

It was announced in February 2008 that Best would join English side Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591....

 at the end of the 2007/2008 season.

At the end of 2008, Best was banned for 18 weeks for wreckless contact with James Haskell
James Haskell
James Haskell is an English professional Rugby Union player who currently plays for the Top League team Ricoh Black Rams in Japan and internationally for England.-Career:...


Best played in the Ireland A squad in the 2008 Churchill Cup
2008 Churchill Cup
The 2008 Churchill Cup took place between 7 June and 21 June 2008 in what was the sixth year of the tournament. Six rugby union teams took part: , England Saxons, Ireland A, Scotland A, the , and an Argentinian XV.-Participation:...

, and also played an integral part in the Ireland A team that won the 2009 Churchill Cup
2009 Churchill Cup
The 2009 Churchill Cup took place between June 6 and June 21, 2009, in the seventh year of the tournament.For the first time in the tournament's history, all rounds were held in the United States in an effort to reduce the cost of the tournament after the discontinued sponsorship by Barclays and to...

.

External links

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