Oscar Beard

Oscar Beard
Full nameOscar Charles Marston Beard
Date of birth (2001-11-20) 20 November 2001
Place of birthFrimley Park, England
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Weight101 kg (223 lb; 15 st 13 lb)
SchoolLord Wandsworth College
Cranleigh School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre, Wing
Current team Harlequins
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2021– Harlequins 77 (40)
Correct as of 18 January 2025
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2019 England U18 3 (0)
2024– England A 2 (5)
Correct as of 17 November 2024

Oscar Charles Beard (born 20 November 2001) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins and the England national team.

Early life

Beard was born at Frimley Park Hospital in Frimley, Surrey, the same hospital as Jonny Wilkinson.[2] Like Wilkinson, he started his rugby career at Alton Rugby Club playing tag rugby, then joining Farnham RUFC in the under-9’s. Beard was selected for the Harlequins academy at 12 years-old. [3] He attended Lord Wandsworth College until the age of 14, then moved to Cranleigh School where he was 1st XV captain during the 2018/19 unbeaten season, which saw Cranleigh School lift the Daily Mail Trophy. He was also part of the unbeaten team in 2016/17 and the Rosslyn Park Rugby Sevens cup runners-up the same year.[4]

Club career

In April 2021, Beard made his senior debut for Harlequins against Sale Sharks.[4][5] In January 2022, following fourteen appearances during the 2021-22 season, Beard signed a new long-term contract with Harlequins.[5] His appearances included two tries against London Irish in the Rugby Premiership in November 2021 and a European Champions Cup debut against Castres in December 2021.[5]

During 2022, Beard played one game on loan at London Scottish.

In April 2024, he was part of the side that defeated Glasgow Warriors 28-24 at home in the Round of 16, the first time the club had ever won a knockout game in the Champions Cup.[6] The following week, he made his 50th appearance for the club, beating Bordeaux Bègles 42-41 away in only the second knockout victory for in the competitions history for the club.[7][8]

International career

Beard has been a part of the England pathway since under-15’s and played for England South, England U17’s, England U18 and earning 2 caps on their tour to South Africa in 2019 and England U20 in 2021. Following highly acclaimed performances in the No 12 shirt for England U20, Oscar earned his Premiership debut for Harlequins v Sale which resulted in an injury ruling him out of the England U20 Six Nations just days before the tournament commenced.[9][10]

In January 2024, Beard was called up by coach Steve Borthwick to the senior England squad for the 2024 Six Nations Championship.[11] Beard played at outside centre and scored a try on his England A debut against Portugal on 25 February 2024.[12] In October 2024, Oscar was selected in Steve Borthwick’s 36 man senior training squad in preparation for the 2024 Autumn Series International. A concussion in the European Cup match for Harlequins v Munster in November 2024 rules him out following rehabiltion with England team training in Girona. Following this set back, Oscar was called-up to the England A national rugby union team going on to beat Australia A 38-17 at The Stoop.[13][14] This game saw Beard acclaimed for his offload resulting in his Harlequins team mate Cadan Murley scoring in the corner setting. In 2025, he was called up to the senior training squad for the 2025 Six Nations.[15] The 21 June 2025, England XV v France XV rewarded Oscar’s versatility as the 23 replacement on a 6-2 bench in preparation for England Rugby’s Summer Tour to Argentina and the U.S.A. Oscar is now part of Borthwick’s 36 man squad for the Summer Tests.

References

  1. ^ "Oscar Beard". All.Rugby. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  2. ^ Godwin, Hugh (22 January 2022). "Oscar Beard interview: The Harlequins tyro on life as a ballboy, Marcus Smith's advice and 2003 World Cup DVDs". inews. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Oscar Beard". Ultimate Rugby. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  4. ^ a b Jaycock, Ben (10 April 2022). "Young Guns: Harlequins centre Oscar Beard". The Rugby Paper. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Harlequins: Oscar Beard and Will Evans agree 'long-term' contracts". BBC Sport. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Harlequins edge Glasgow in thriller to reach Champions Cup quarter-finals". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  7. ^ "TEAM NEWS: HARLEQUINS SQUAD FOR BORDEAUX". Harlequins. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  8. ^ Kitson, Robert. "Harlequins edge out Bordeaux in thriller to reach Champions Cup semi-final". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  9. ^ Savage, Angus. "England U20: Stars to look out for as Dickens names 2020 EPS". nextgenxv. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  10. ^ Rees, Paul (21 January 2024). "Beard: To get the call was a dream come true". The Rugby Paper. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  11. ^ "England Six Nations squad: Jamie George captain, Billy Vunipola & Kyle Sinckler dropped". BBC Sport. 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  12. ^ "England A 91-5 Portugal". BBC Sport. 25 February 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  13. ^ Morgan, Charlie (6 November 2024). "Gabriel Ibitoye called up to England A squad for Australia fixture". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  14. ^ Telfer, Alastair. "Murley scores twice as England A beat Australia A". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  15. ^ Meagher, Gerard. "Maro Itoje replaces Jamie George as England captain for Six Nations". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
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