A
gifted 7s performer, having previously played for teams such as the 'Crusaders'
and the 'Marauders' along with Rhodri McAtee,
Chris
was unfortunately injured in August when the Cornish Pirates attempted to retain
the Lawrence Hamblin Henley Internationals Sevens title won at the first attempt
in 2005. However, when recovered, he had really made his mark come season's end,
scoring eight tries in just 12 appearances, which was mightily impressive.
Chris
first played rugby for Maidenhead U9s, a club he represented up to senior level.
His league debut for the Berkshire side was against Gloucester Old Boys, which
was clearly quite a baptism at the tender age of just 16! Besides Chris, Maidenhead
has also recently produced English rugby players the calibre of James Haskell
and Nils Mordt, the latter who played for England Schools versus Wales 16 Group
at the Mennaye Field in 2000.
Educated at Shiplake
College, Henley-on-Thames, Chris played county schools cricket for Berkshire and
Oxfordshire, and still plays the occasional 20-over game as a fast bowler and
hard-hitting late order batsman. He has also worked as a boat-builder, mechanic
and general builder.
Of his family, uncle John Cracknell
was a useful second-row forward who played rugby for Metropolitan Police, and
who also had a spell at Old Halesonians, a club where one of Chris's England shirts
is on display.
After getting the taste of playing
international rugby for England U19s, Chris followed this up with selection at
U21s level alongside such players as Ugo Monye, Marcel Garvey, Tom Rees and Simon
Whatling. He played matches in the Six Nations and World Championships held in
Scotland, including making an appearance against a Luke McAlister-inspired New
Zealand team.
These were naturally memorable occasions,
but for him his personal highlights were leading Young England Sevens in Dubai
in 2005, and playing for the Cornish Pirates in their 2007 EDF Energy National
Trophy victory at Twickenham.
Competition in the
back-row area is considerable, but back to full fitness Chris is likely to make
a forceful impact in 2007-08.
