Dan Norton
 | ||||||||||||
| Full name | Daniel John Norton | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 22 March 1988 | |||||||||||
| Place of birth | Gloucester, England | |||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||
| Weight | 85 kg (13 st 5 lb; 187 lb) | |||||||||||
| School | Brockworth Enterprise School | |||||||||||
| University | Hartpury College | |||||||||||
| Rugby union career | ||||||||||||
| Playing career | ||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Fullback | |||||||||||
| Professional / senior clubs | ||||||||||||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) | |||||||||
| 2007–2009 2007–2009 2009–2011 2011– |
Gloucester → Moseley (loan) Bristol Hartpury College |
1 37 31 7 |
(0) (120) (90) (55) | |||||||||
| Sevens national teams | ||||||||||||
| Years | Club / team | Comps | ||||||||||
| 2009– 2016 |
England GB 7s |
1 (20) | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
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Dan Norton (born 22 March 1988) is a rugby union player for the England rugby sevens national team, and also plays for Hartpury College R.F.C. in the National Division Two South. He plays as a winger. Norton was at the Gloucester academy and dual registered with Moseley for both the 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons.
He competed in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games representing Team GB, where he scored a try in the final, but was ultimately unable to prevent a 43-7 drubbing by Fiji.
International
Norton helped England U20s to a Six Nations Grand Slam title in 2008.
During the 2010–2011 season, Norton's main focus was on the 7s format, playing in the Commonwealth Games and a regular in the IRB Sevens World Series. Norton has been a core-contracted Sevens player to the RFU since the 2011-12 season. Norton scored 37 tries in the 2011/12 series – second only to England teammate Mat Turner with 38. In December 2012, Norton scored his 100th career try for England against Scotland in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.[1][2] Norton is second on the all-time list of England try scorers on the IRB Sevens World Series.[3]
Norton has exceptional pace,[4] the ability to sidestep of either foot, and with a good kicking game. Norton is one of the quickest players on the 7s circuit, with a personal best for the 40m of 4.78 seconds.
Club
Norton made his name at Hartpury College where his dynamic performances on the wing and at fullback earned him a senior contract with Gloucester from 2007 to 2009. and was instrumental in helping Moseley (on loan from Gloucester) win the EDF National Trophy in 2009, scoring a try against Leeds in the final at Twickenham.
In April 2009, it was announced that Norton would be joining Bristol for the next season. Norton played the start of the 2009–2010 for Bristol and soon established himself as the best winger in the league and top scorer, as Bristol reached the Championship play-off final in 2010, going on to win the British & Irish Cup in 2011. However, after returning from England sevens duty his time with the different format seemed to lose his edge, and was not given enough time to convert, becoming a bit part player for the rest of the season. Although he re-established himself in the B&I Cup winning Bristol side at the end of the 2010-11 season, he was not included in the Bristol retained players list announced at the end of May 2011.
Norton is an ambassador for Mizuno Rugby.
Honours
Moseley
- National Trophy: 2009
Bristol
- British and Irish Cup: 2011
England
- Dubai 7s: 2011
References
- ↑ "Hosts and Portugal impress at SA Sevens". worldrugby.org. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ↑ "Dan Norton grabs his 100th try as England head to the Bowl again". ur7s.com. 8 December 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ↑ http://www.irbsevens.com/statistics/allintpointdetails.html
- ↑ Mairs, Gavin (10 May 2012), "England sevens wing Dan Norton puts his Usain Bolt speed to good effect in world series", The Daily Telegraph