Kyle Sinckler

Kyle Norval Jonathan Sean Sinckler (born 30 March 1993) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Premiership Rugby club Bristol Bears and the England national team.

A product of the Harlequins Academy, Sinckler made his brief debut in the 2011–12 season, before going out on loan to Richmond for the entire season, becoming part of the squad that won promotion to the National League 1.

Sinckler graduated from the Harlequins Academy squad after playing his first game for the club in their 42–6 thrashing over Gloucester in round 2 of the 2011–12 Premiership although he only appeared for the last 5 minutes of the game.

Sinckler only went on to play one more game for Harlequins in that same season, coming off the bench against Sale Sharks during their 37–25 victory in the 2011–12 LV Cup.

During this season, Sinckler was sent to Richmond on loan, where he helped them earn promotion to National League 1.

Sinckler then spent the whole of the following season playing at Harlequins where he made seven appearances, all of which were from the bench.

He played in various competitions, and made his Heineken Cup debut against Zebre which Harlequins went on to win 53–5.

Sinckler was named in the England under-20 Elite Player Squad ahead of the 2011–12 season.

He returned to Harlequins for the 2012–13 season as a primary squad rotation player; a brief loan to Ealing followed in the following league campaign, before breaking into the first team squad.

Sinckler highly contributed to their 2012–13 LV Cup winning campaign, playing in four out of the six games, including the semi-final against Bath.

In his first season, he played ten times, across both the Six Nations Championship and 2012 IRB Junior World Championships.

At the Junior World Championship in South Africa, Sinckler scored in pool stage victories against Italy and Ireland.

He was reinstated into the squad for the 2012–13 season, playing in just three matches in the 2013 Junior Six Nations, due to his commitments with Harlequins.

His form for Harlequins across the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons landed Sinckler a place in the England national side for the uncapped annual fixture against the Barbarians.

He was named in the starting line-up for the "England XV", in a 39–29 defeat.

After his performance against the Barbarians, Sinckler was picked over Will Collier to go on tour with the rest of the England squad.

Sinckler was sent on loan to Ealing Trailfinders at the beginning of the 2013–14 season; though intended to be for the entire league campaign, he was recalled by Harlequins.

Sinckler made his way into the Harlequins match-day team, when Paul Doran-Jones sustained an injury early on in the season.

He made his first appearance for the season during a 37–13 victory over Worcester Warriors.

However, Sinckler did have to wait until mid-February to gain his first start for the team, which occurred in a 25–20 defeat to Gloucester.

A week later, Sinckler went on to play his first full game for the club, which Harlequins narrowly defeated Worcester 21–20.

Sinckler went on to start in their Premiership semi-final play-off tie against Saracens, which resulted in a 31–17 defeat.

Sinckler has represented England at under-16, under-18, under-19 and under-20 levels, and has been a crucial member of the senior team since 2016, in which he has won the Six Nations Championship, the Calcutta Cup and the Millennium Trophy.

In May 2016, Sinckler was a member of the side that lost to Montpellier in the final of the European Rugby Challenge Cup.

Sinckler was called up to the senior England squad again by new head coach Eddie Jones, on 8 May 2016, for a three-day training squad.

Sinckler's performances for England led to him being included in Warren Gatland's squad for the British & Irish Lions' tour to New Zealand in 2017.

In 2019, he was a member of the England squad that finished as runners-up to South Africa at the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

He was substituted due to a head injury in the third minute of the final, having been accidentally elbowed by Maro Itoje as they both made a tackle.

Sinckler was born in Wandsworth, London, and grew up in Merton.

He began playing rugby from the age of eight.

Sinckler states that it was his mother, Donna, who instigated his rugby career.

According to Sinckler, he was a keen footballer though his physical nature resulted in him dropping the sport.

His mother took him to local rugby union side Battersea Ironsides in Earlsfield.

Sinckler attended Graveney School.

He also attended Epsom College.

Sinckler began his Harlequins career when Academy coach Collin Osborne saw him, aged 12, playing at one of his various positions, this time full back, against King's College School OB, Wimbledon, where his talent was immediately spotted.

It was agreed that Sinckler would remain at Harlequins for the remainder of the 2019–20 season, officially joining Bristol during the summer.

On 27 January 2020, it was confirmed that Sinckler would join fellow Premiership side Bristol Bears, signing onto a two-year deal.

On 16 October 2020 Sinckler started for the Bears side that defeated Toulon in the final of the EPCR Challenge Cup to win their first ever European trophy.

Sinckler extended his contract with Bristol until the end of the 2023/24 season in October 2022.