Julian White

Biography

White born 14 May 1973 in Plymouth, Devon, in the U.K. As a youngster he played mini and junior rugby for Salcombe and had played in the same senior side as his father, a former Plymouth Albion player. He served his rugby union apprenticeship with Okehampton and Plymouth Albion and had a spell in New Zealand with Hawke's Bay and Canterbury Crusaders. He made his debut for Hawke's Bay in August 1996 and appeared in the NZ Provincial Championship. He made his only Super 12 appearance as a replacement for the Crusaders against Natal in Christchurch in April 1997.

His time in New Zealand ended in tragedy; he was involved in an auto accident in which a young woman was killed and he suffered a broken leg. As he remembers it,

He returned to the UK when a Welsh coach who had worked with White at Hawke's Bay told him that Bridgend desperately needed a tighthead. White played for Bridgend in 1998/9 before moving to Saracens in 1999. He swiftly made his Premiership debut in the 28–23 defeat of London Irish at Vicarage Road, Watford on the opening weekend of the season.

White made his England debut against South Africa on England's Summer 2000 tour there. He appeared in his first Twickenham Test against Argentina in November 2001, playing until half time when he was replaced by Phil Vickery.

He toured North America in the summer of 2001, forming a solid front row with Graham Rowntree and Dorian West.

At the start of the 2002 season he transferred back to the West Country with Bristol Shoguns. This occurred after a protracted affair where White had attempted to get out of the contract he had signed with Bristol. White did not endear himself to Bristol supporters as he had tried to break out of his contract to join bitter local rivals Bath. In the event, White did become a Bristol player. Along with team-mate Daryl Gibson, he joined Leicester Tigers for the 2003–04 season after Bristol were relegated. Replacing the retiring Darren Garforth, his Leicester debut was held over as he was in Australia on duty with England at the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup.

During the World Cup he was in the starting line up against Samoa and came on as a replacement against Uruguay. As part of the victorious squad White earned himself an MBE.

In 2004 White took the opportunity to demonstrate his scrummaging skills in the England front row during the 6 Nations and the summer tour to the Southern Hemisphere.

He was one of the players named in the 2005 British and Irish Lions squad to tour New Zealand, and started in all three tests.

Prior to the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup, White made himself unavailable for selection and did not feature in another England game. In January 2009, it was announced that he had been selected for the England Saxons squad. With the suspension of Matt Stevens it was announced in 2009 that he had been called up to the full England squad in 2009 as a replacement for Stevens.

Personal life

White met his wife since 2004, Sara, in a Cardiff bar when he was, by his own admission, "completely twisted" (i.e., drunk). She has proven to be a good influence on him in many ways, perhaps none more significant than when she bought him a cow as a Christmas present. The gift sparked an interest in animals and farming; since then, he has purchased and rented land near the village of Stoke Albany, and now farms 300 acres (120 ha) in the area, keeping 200 head of cattle and 300 ewes as of late 2009. He plans to continue farming after the end of his rugby career, envisioning a business of selling high-quality beef and lamb to restaurants and eventually supermarkets. He and Sara currently have two daughters.