Jon Callard

Jonathan Edward Brooks Callard (born 1 January 1966, in Leicester) is a coach at the Rugby Football Union's National Academy. He formerly played rugby union at fullback for Bath and England. He is the brother of ex-Newport RFC player Nigel Callard. Callard taught physical education classes and sports classes at Downside School (Somerset) in the early to mid-1990s. He also taught Biology to younger students. Callard joined Bath from Newport in 1989. In November 1993 he made his international debut for England against the All Blacks, which saw England cause an upset, winning 15-9. Callard enjoyed a fine debut, scoring 12 points from four successful penalties. In February 1994, on his second appearance for England, Callard was again the England's hero in the 1994 Five Nations Championship match between Scotland and England at the newly rebuilt Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. He kicked all of England's points from five penalties, in a scrappy and closely fought match, as England narrowly beat Scotland 15-14. Controversially, the winning penalty came deep into stoppage time at the end of the match with the score at 12-14, when the referee erroneously gave a penalty against Scotland in the final climactic tussle for possession. Video replays later confirmed that the ball was handled on the ground in a ruck by Rob Andrew, and the referee, believing it had been handled illegally by Scottish player Ian Jardine, awarded England a penalty. England's white jersey that season had 'blue' cuffs that matched the Scotland jersey, which could be easily mistaken in a mass crowd of bodies. Callard held his nerve against a cacophony of booing and jeering from the home fans and successfully kicked the resultant penalty, from nearly 50 yards out. As the kick went between the posts, the referee blew the final whistle, and Callard celebrated wildly with his relieved England teammates. The adulation he received in the wake of such a dramatic victory was fleeting however, as despite his mat