Where famous rugby players grew up and lived
Explore the homes and neighbourhoods of 7 famous rugby players, and how each place shaped the person they became.
Brian O'Driscoll1979–1997
📍 Clontarf, Dublin 3, Ireland
Brian O'Driscoll was born in Dublin in January 1979 and grew up in Clontarf, a comfortable, leafy suburb on Dublin Bay's north shore, with its seafront promenade and the wide green spaces…
Dan Carter1982–2000
📍 Southbridge, Canterbury, New Zealand
Dan Carter grew up in Southbridge, a small farming town on the Canterbury Plains, about forty-five kilometres south of Christchurch. His father, Neville, was a builder and a devoted member…
Gareth Edwards1947–1964
📍 Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales
Gareth Edwards was born in July 1947 in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, a Welsh-speaking mining village at the head of the Amman Valley, between the coalfields and the Black Mountain, the son of a miner…
Jonah Lomu1975–1995
📍 Mangere, Auckland, New Zealand
I grew up in Māngere, South Auckland, in a community that was tough and tight-knit — Pacific Island and Māori families living close together, looking after each other's children, finding…
Jonny Wilkinson1979–1997
📍 Farnham, Surrey, UK
Jonny Wilkinson grew up in Frimley and Farnham, in Surrey, in a family that loved sport. His father, Phil, had played rugby and cricket, and his mother, Philippa, played squash at county…
Richie McCaw1980–1998
📍 Kurow, Waitaki, New Zealand
Richie McCaw grew up on a farm in the Hakataramea Valley, a remote high-country valley in South Canterbury near the Waitaki River, where sheep stations run up into tussock hills. His…
Siya Kolisi1991–2003
📍 Zwide, Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape, South Africa
Siya Kolisi was born in June 1991 in Zwide, a township on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, in South Africa's Eastern Cape. His mother, Phakama, was a teenager when he was…