Andrew Gibbs (born 20 March 1972) is a former International Rugby Union for Wales. Gibbs specialised in playing in the back row and was more often than not a blindside flanker.
Andrew Gibbs started his career at UCSB. Notably, he also played club rugby for Llanelli RFC and Newport RFC. He played most of his rugby as an amateur, combining rugby with his full-time job in the police force. Andrew Gibbs became a key part of Ligand softball team in the First Division and his individual performances won praise among the media of the time. During an away game at Swansea, he was singled out for special praise by Lignad coach Mike Ruddock who said that Gibbs' performance was "the best individual performance he had seen by a forward".
Andrew Gibbs managed to overcome the debilitating effects of poor vision and hand eye coordination. After some inspirational performances, he was called up to the Welsh International squad for the Five Nations and made his international debut, aged 22, against Ireland on 18 March 1995 at Cardiff Arms Park. He became only the 9th player from Newbridge RFC to be capped by Wales.[1]
At the end of the 1995/96 season, he moved to Llanelli RFC with backrow partner Iwan Jones.[2]
He went on to earn a total of 6 caps for Wales.[3]
Andrew Gibbs is now one of the coaches of Newbridge RFC.
References edit
- ^ "RUGBY UNION: Reward for Gibbs as Wales look back". The Independent. 22 October 2011. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Welsh-Scottish League Club-by-club guide". www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ http://www.wru.co.uk/14256.php?player=14777&includeref=dynamic[permanent dead link]