Justin Tipuric

Justin Tipuric
Tipuric in 2012
BornJustin Tipuric
(1989-08-06) 6 August 1989
Alltwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales
Height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight102 kg (16 st 1 lb; 225 lb)
SchoolCwmtawe Community School
Rugby union career
Position Openside Flanker
Youth career
Trebanos RFC
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2007–2011 Aberavon RFC 32 (20)
2009–2025 Ospreys 200 (145)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2008–2009 Wales U20 15 (35)
2011–2023 Wales 93 (55)
2013, 2017, 2021 British & Irish Lions 12 (0)
Correct as of 18 March 2023[1]

Justin Tipuric (/ˈtɪpərɪk/ TIP-ə-rik; born 6 August 1989) is a Welsh former international rugby union player who played for Wales as an openside flanker. He has formerly been the captain at Ospreys. He joined the Ospreys coaching staff in 2025.[2]

Early life

Although Tipuric grew up in Trebanos, he was born in the village of Alltwen and is of Croatian descent.[3] Tipuric's father was a keen rugby player and captain of Trebanos RFC. Justin and his younger brothers all played for this club and, on his mother's insistence, Tipuric was required to wear a Scrum cap from a young age. As such, he has worn a distinctive blue cap (the traditional Trebanos colours) throughout his career.[4][5]

Club career

Tipuric plays for the Ospreys Welsh regional team, having previously played for Aberavon RFC. His Ospreys debut came as a replacement in an LV= Cup home defeat to Northampton Saints on 5 November 2009, and he has now played more than 200 times for his home region, including starting in the 2012 Magners League title win over Leinster in Dublin in May, 2012. He was made Ospreys captain from the 2018/19 season.

International career

In June 2011 he was named in the Wales national rugby union team 45-man training squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup,[6] but was ultimately left out of the final squad.[7] He made his Wales international debut on 20 August 2011 versus Argentina as a second-half replacement. He was also included in the Wales Rugby Sevens in 10/11.

After his efforts for the Welsh side in the 2013 Six Nations Championship, he was selected by Warren Gatland for the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia.

In August 2015 Tipuric named to the Welsh national rugby union team 47-man training squad for 2015 Rugby World Cup, and started in the home & away warm-up fixtures against Ireland, scoring tries in both fixtures (the first was nominated for World Rugby Try of the Year[8]) and being named man of the match in the second game. Tipuric was named to the final 31-man squad, and despite his fantastic form entering the tournament, he was dropped from the starting XV in favour of returning captain Sam Warburton. He did however feature in all 5 of Wales' games scoring a try in the win 54–9 against Uruguay, his third successive international with a try.

After being named in the squad for the 2016 Six Nations Championship, Tipuric went on to feature in all 5 games, starting alongside longtime rival Sam Warburton against Ireland & Scotland. In the final game against Italy, Tipuric sustained a heavy concussion during a line out which resulted in Tipuric requiring a three-month break from the sport to recover, ruling him out of the summer tour to New Zealand.[9] Following his return from injury Tipuric was included Robert Howley's squad for the 2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals, going onto start in 3 fixtures including a man of the match try scoring performance versus South Africa.

Tipuric was named in the squad for the 2017 Six Nations Championship, and started in the first fixture versus Italy.[10]

Tipuric announced his retirement from International Rugby on 20 May 2023.[11] He will continue to play for the Ospreys.

International tries

TryOpponentLocationVenueCompetitionDateResult
1 IrelandCardiff, WalesMillennium Stadium2015 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches8 August 2015Loss
2 IrelandDublin, IrelandLansdowne Road2015 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches29 August 2015Win
3 UruguayCardiff, WalesMillennium Stadium2015 Rugby World Cup20 September 2015Win
4 South AfricaCardiff, WalesMillennium Stadium2016 Autumn Internationals26 November 2016Win
5 ItalyCardiff, WalesMillennium Stadium2018 Six Nations11 March 2018Win
6 GeorgiaToyota, JapanToyota Stadium2019 Rugby World Cup23 September 2019Win
7 IrelandDublin, IrelandLansdowne Road2020 Six Nations8 February 2020Loss
8  England London, England Twickenham 2020 Six Nations 7 March 2020 Loss
9
10 ItalyLlanelli, WalesParc y ScarletsAutumn Nations Cup5 December 2020Win
11 New ZealandCardiff, WalesMillennium Stadium2022 Autumn Internationals5 November 2022Loss

References

  1. ↑ Hassan, Nabil (11 November 2021). "LIONS V JAPAN UPDATE". Lions Rugby. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  2. ↑ "URC: Harri Deaves inspired by Ospreys hero Justin Tipuric in his Wales bid". BBC Sport. 2 October 2025. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  3. ↑ Woolford, Anthony (8 February 2017). "How wrestling matches with a prisoner of war made Justin Tipuric". walesonline.
  4. ↑ "The real Justin Tipuric and what he thought about Sam Warburton". 24 November 2019.
  5. ↑ "Who is Justin Tipuric: Ten things you should know about the Wales flanker". 19 May 2021.
  6. ↑ "Gavin Henson and Gareth Delve make Wales squad". BBC Sport. 4 June 2011 – via bbc.co.uk.
  7. ↑ "Rugby World Cup 2011: Sam Warburton leads Wales in New Zealand". BBC. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  8. ↑ Bywater, Alex (28 October 2015). "Justin Tipuric nominated for World Rugby try of the year award". walesonline.
  9. ↑ "Wales' Justin Tipuric given three-month concussion layoff". The Irish Times.
  10. ↑ Lucas, Dan (5 February 2017). "Italy 7-33 Wales: Six Nations 2017 – as it happened". The Guardian.
  11. ↑ "Justin Tipuric: Wales flanker announces retirement from international rugby months before World Cup". Sky Sports. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
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