Alex Gray (sportsman, born 1991) explained

Alex Gray
Full Name:Alexander Gray
Birth Date:1991 5, df=y
Birth Place:Bishop Auckland, England
Height:1.96abbr=onNaNabbr=on
Weight:113kg (249lb)[1]
Ru Position:Number 8, Centre, Wing
Ru Proclubs:Newcastle Falcons
London Irish
Yorkshire Carnegie
Bath Rugby
Ru Clubcaps:9
29
8
6
Ru Clubpoints:(5)
(10)
(5)
(0)
Ru Clubyears:2010–2011
2011–2013
2016–2017
2020–2021
Ru Nationalteam:England U20
Ru Nationalyears:2010–2011
Ru Nationalcaps:7
Ru Nationalpoints:(25)
Repsevensyears1:2013–2016
Repsevensteam1:England Sevens
School:Barnard Castle School
Module:
Embed:yes
Position:Tight end
High School:Barnard Castle School
(Barnard Castle, England)
Undraftedyear:2017
Pastteams:

Alexander Gray (born 1 May 1991) is an English former rugby union and American football player. He has played for the England Sevens, Newcastle Falcons, London Irish, Yorkshire Carnegie, and Bath Rugby, and played tight end for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He also appears as Apollo in the 2024 BBC One reboot of Gladiators.

Rugby union (2010–2017)

Club career

Gray was a product of Newcastle Falcons Academy and signed a two-year first-team contract at the age of just 17. His primary position is number eight, but he can also play openside flanker. It was announced that the back-rower joined London Irish on 8 August 2011.[2]

After finishing the England Sevens commitment in the summer of 2016, Gray signed for Yorkshire Carnegie for 2016/17 season.[3]

International career

The former Barnard Castle School Schoolboy has captained England to Grand Slams at Under-16s Under-18s and Under-20s levels, making his Under-18s debut three years young when they toured Australia in 2007. He then skippered the Under-18s through a clean sweep in the 2008 Home Nations tournament, before leading them to six wins from six on their summer tour to Argentina. 2009 saw more success at age group level as he led England 18s again.

Gray made his England Sevens debut in 2013. Subsequently, he was named as 2015 RPA Sevens Player of the Year.

In May 2016, Gray was included in extended Great Britain Sevens squad in preparation for the Rio Olympics.[4]

NFL career (2017–2019)

Gray signed with National Football League club Atlanta Falcons on 25 May 2017, the first British rugby player to pursue a career in American football.[5] [6] He was signed as a practice squad player after attending the NFL Combine and tryouts in Florida through the NFL's International Player Pathway Program. Under the rules governing this scheme, teams in the NFC South division receive one extra practice squad position specifically for an international player, but these players cannot be activated during the season following their signing.[7] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Falcons on 15 January 2018.[8]

On 1 September 2018, Gray was waived by the Falcons and re-signed to the practice squad.[9] [10]

Gray signed a reserve/future contract with the Falcons on 31 December 2018.[11] He was waived/injured during final roster cuts on 31 August 2019,[12] and reverted to the team's injured reserve list the next day.[13] He was waived from injured reserve on January 13, 2020.[14]

Rugby union (2020–2021)

Gray returned to rugby union from the NFL when he signed with Bath Rugby in November 2020. He left the team in the offseason after making only six appearances.[15] [16]

Gladiators

In the beginning of 2024, he joined the cast of the British TV series Gladiators as Apollo.[17] [18]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Former Falcon Alex Gray lands contract with Bath . web page . Bath Rugby . 19 November 2020 .
  2. Web site: London Irish sign Alex Gray from Newcastle Falcons . 9 August 2011 . BBC Sport . en-GB . 15 November 2017.
  3. Web site: Three new signings for Yorkshire Carnegie. www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk.
  4. News: Rio Olympics 2016: Great Britain Sevens pick Allen, Bennett & Simpson. BBC Sport . 12 May 2016.
  5. News: Former England Sevens star Alex Gray swaps rugby for American Football to sign one-year deal with Atlanta Falcons. Julian. Bennetts. The Telegraph . 25 May 2017. www.telegraph.co.uk.
  6. Web site: Sabre, Apollo and Dynamite have the heart of winners as they join Gladiators . 2023-05-26 . www.bbc.co.uk . en.
  7. News: England sevens star Alex Gray signs for Atlanta Falcons practice squad . Tom . Hamilton . . 25 May 2017 . 27 May 2017.
  8. Web site: Falcons announce signing of nine players to reserve future contracts. McFadden, Will. AtlantaFalcons.com. 15 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180202035020/http://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/transactions/article-1/Falcons-announce-signing-of-nine-players-to-reserve-future-contracts/36f74c57-4eff-4eef-865d-ac07dd57a8b7. 2 February 2018.
  9. Web site: Falcons 2018 roster: Atlanta announces roster cuts, trims active roster down to 52. McFadden, Will. AtlantaFalcons.com. 1 September 2018.
  10. Web site: Falcons sign 10 players to practice squad. McFadden, Will. AtlantaFalcons.com. 2 September 2018. 4 September 2018. 4 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180904121013/https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/falcons-sign-10-players-to-practice-squad. dead.
  11. Web site: Falcons sign nine players to reserve/futures contracts. Conway, Kelsey. AtlantaFalcons.com. 31 December 2018. 1 January 2019. 20 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201020200725/https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/falcons-sign-nine-players-to-reserve-futures-contracts. dead.
  12. News: McFadden, Will. Falcons 2019 roster announced. AtlantaFalcons.com. 31 August 2019. 24 December 2019.
  13. Web site: Falcons' Alex Gray: Ends up on IR. CBSSports.com. 4 September 2019. 24 December 2019.
  14. News: McFadden, Will . Falcons waive Ra'Shede Hageman, Alex Gray . AtlantaFalcons.com . January 13, 2020 . January 15, 2020.
  15. Web site: Former Falcon Alex Gray lands contract with Bath Rugby. bathrugby.com.
  16. Web site: Bath confirm the exit of Alex Gray, their American football gamble. rugbypass.com. 4 September 2021 .
  17. Web site: Sabre, Apollo and Dynamite have the heart of winners as they join Gladiators . . 4 June 2023 . 25 May 2023.
  18. Web site: First look at the Gladiators line up and the referees keeping them in check . BBC Media Centre . 31 May 2023.