Eric Peters (rugby union)

Eric Peters

Date of birth	(1969-01-28) 28 January 1969
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	105 kg (16 st 7 lb)
School	Brentwood School
University	Cambridge University
Occupation(s)	Chartered Surveyor
Rugby union career
Position(s) Number eight Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) Loughborough Students Cambridge University R.U.F.C. () Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 1993–2000 2000–2001 2002 2002 2002–2003 Bath Rugby Harlequins Fylde Rotherham Connacht () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1995–1999 Scotland 29 (25)

Eric Peters (born 28 January 1969) is a Scottish former amateur and professional rugby union player, usually playing at Number 8, who rose to captain the Scotland national rugby union team.

Early life

Born in Scotland Peters attended Brentwood School, Essex, and the University of Cambridge, where he became captain of rugby. He played rugby for England at both Under 21 and Student level, before choosing to play for Scotland at senior level.

Rugby career

He joined Bath Rugby club in September 1993, when rugby union was still an amateur game, so he also qualified as a Chartered Surveyor and worked for a property consultant. He was a replacement for Bath in the victorious 1998 Heineken Cup final as they defeated Brive.

He first played for Scotland against Canada, in January 1995, and became a professional player when the code was changed in 1996. He was first appointed Scottish captain for the 1999 match against Italy, but sustained a shattered kneecap in April 1999, and was out of the game for over a year. In March 2000, whilst still undergoing rehabilitation and surgery on his knee, it was discovered that he had testicular cancer, which was successfully treated with chemotherapy.

Peters scored a memorable try in 1995 vs Wales at Murrayfield, regarded by Bill McLaren as "one of the great tries".

Whilst still injured, he left Bath and joined Harlequins, who he first played for in December 2000. Leaving Harlequins in 2001, he briefly joined Fylde and Rotherham before joining Connacht in 2002. He also briefly returned to the Scotland team in 2002. Peters usually played in the Number 8 position, is 1.96m tall and had a playing weight of 105 kg

Later career

Retiring from professional rugby in 2003, Peters became a Chartered Surveyor and Senior Associate at property consultants King Sturge, for whom he still plays rugby sevens, helping them win the RICS tournament 3 years in a row. He also commentates on rugby for BBC Radio 5 Live and is a celebrity supporter of the Orchid cancer charity.