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James Grindal
James Grindal (born 1980 in Nuneaton) is an English former rugby union rugby player who played scrum-half for Bristol Rugby. He made over 275 first class appearances, and was capped by England at Under-18, Under-21 and England Saxons level, as well as representing the Barbarians. A former pupil of King Henry VIII School in Coventry, scrum-half Grindal made his first-team debut for Leicester Tigers as a 19-year-old and, between 1999 and 2002 made 27 appearances, and was involved in the first-team squad during three Premiership title wins and the back to back Heineken Cup wins in 2000 and 2001, in a golden era for the club. Grindal made a move to Newcastle Falcons, under Director of Rugby Rob Andrew, in the summer of 2002. He made 156 first-team appearances for Newcastle between 2002 and 2009, and won the Powergen Cup after victory over Sale Sharks at Twickenham in 2004.[2] Grindal was partnered at half back with World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson, during his time there. He was called into the England Saxons side that defeated Ireland A on 1 February 2008.[3][4] On 25 June 2009 it was confirmed that he would return to his former club, Leicester Tigers, from the Newcastle Falcons to replace the departing Julien Dupuy. In his second spell as a Leicester Tigers player, Grindal was in the matchday squad for 2 Twickenham Premiership Finals in 2010 and 2011, picking up an Aviva Premiership winner's medal as a replacement in 2010.[5] He made a further 59 appearances for the first team in these 3 seasons. He joined Bristol for the 2012–13 season, and was Club Captain for the 2013–14 season, making 43 appearances in his 2 seasons there. Grindal retired from professional rugby at the end of the 2013–14 season. References
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