Shaw
A towering giant and legend of the game, Simon Shaw is one of English rugby’s best. Learn more about him and his career here with RugbyPass.
Simon Shaw Bio
Simon Shaw is perhaps best known for his imposing and towering stature, standing at 6ft 8in he is literally a giant of the game. He’s now retired but as a highly talented lock he made a lasting impression on both club and international level rugby union during his playing career.
Born in Nairobi, Kenya in September 1973, Simon Shaw spent his formative years in Spain and only first got into the sport aged 16 when he moved to Surrey with his family. However, his natural gifts as a player were soon noticed as a youth with Cranleigh Rugby Club and he was signed by Bristol just a year later, earning his first contract at only 17.
After making his professional debut, his impressive form for Bristol lead to his first call up for England in 1995, although injury would mean he would have to wait another year before he made his first appearance for the national side. Simon Shaw then moved for Wasps in 1997 and during his time with the side made over 350 appearances and earned a variety of honours and personal accolades. This included Anglo-Welsh cup wins in 1999 and 2000, three Premiership titles in a row in the 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. He even achieved European silverware with two Heineken Champions Cup wins in 2003-04 and 2007-08.
Simon Shaw’s time with Wasps ended in 2011 and by this time he’d become the first player to appear in over 200 Premiership fixtures. He ended his career in France with Toulon.
His international career was just as exceptional and he was a formidable presence for both England and the British & Irish Lions. Despite the high competition for his position, he earned 71 caps in total for England, winning the 2003 Six Nations Grand Slam and the World Cup. However, much to his disappointment, he didn’t play a single game during the tournament, a fact Simon Shaw has been quite vocal about. He also played in the Rugby World Cups of 2007 and 2011, before retiring from international rugby aged 37.
As mentioned above, he also featured for the British & Irish Lions in their 1997, 2005 and 2009 tours – which in his final tour saw him become the oldest player at the time to feature for the side.
Today Simon Shaw is still involved with the game and is a director at a rugby hospitality firm called Set Piece Events.
