| Jamal Ford-Robinson | |
| Birth Name: | Jamal Michael Ford-Robinson |
| Birth Date: | 11 September 1993 |
| Birth Place: | Bristol, England |
| Height: | 1.78m (05.84feet) |
| Weight: | 118kg (260lb) |
| Currentclub: | Gloucester |
| Position: | Tighthead Prop |
| Youthyears1: | 2010–2012 |
| Youthclubs1: | Leicester Tigers |
| Years1: | 2012–2014 |
| Years2: | 2014 |
| Years3: | 2015–2017 |
| Years4: | 2017–2019 |
| Years5: | 2019– |
| Clubs2: | Cornish Pirates |
| Clubs3: | Bristol |
| Clubs5: | Gloucester |
| Apps1: | 35 |
| Apps2: | 19 |
| Apps3: | 48 |
| Apps4: | 25 |
| Apps5: | 101 |
| Points1: | 20 |
| Points2: | 0 |
| Points3: | 20 |
| Points4: | 0 |
| Points5: | 35 |
| Clubupdate: | 25 April 2024 |
| Repyears1: | 2014 |
| Repteam1: | England Counties XV |
| Repyears2: | 2017 |
| Repteam2: | England XV |
| Repcaps2: | 1 |
| Reppoints2: | 0 |
| Repupdate: | 7 May 2020 |
Jamal Ford-Robinson (born 11 September 1993) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Premiership Rugby side Gloucester.[1]
Ford-Robinson has also spent time wrestling under the ring name 'Krisys' before returning to play for Bristol Bears.[2] [3]
Ford-Robinson was born in Bristol, at the age of 5 years old he moved with his mother to Penryn and started playing rugby at the local club.[4] He has many half-siblings, at least 10, through his father's different relationships.[4]
Ford-Robinson had trials at Bristol and Leicester before starting his rugby career in Leicester Tigers's academy at 16. Ford-Robinson struggled with a conversion to the position of hooker from his preferred position of prop, in 2024 said he probably suffered from anxiety during this period,[4] and left Leicester mid-way through his second season.[4] Motivated by the videos of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ford-Robinson then moved to National League 1 club Cambridge to continue his dream of playing professional rugby. Ford-Robinson played for two seasons under coach Craig Newby who he knew from Leicester.[4] After a first season where Cambridge were relegated from National League 1, Ford-Robinson played regularly in National League 2. At the end of that season he played in the 2014 County Championship for his native Cornwall, scoring a try at Twickenham in the final.[4]
After the final he joined RFU Championship side Cornish Pirates in 2014.[5] [6]
Ford-Robinson then switched to Bristol Bears for the 2015–16 season and aided in their promotion into the Premiership that season.[7] The prop made 48 appearances in a Bristol shirt and suffered with the club as they were relegated back to the Championship at the end of the 2016–17 campaign.[8] The young prop left his birthplace of Bristol to join Northampton Saints for the 2017–18 season after signing for the Midlands club on 2 February 2017.[9]
In March 2019, Ford-Robinson signed a 2-year deal with Premiership Rivals Gloucester Rugby.[10] Following the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, he started making humorous videos on the video-sharing website TikTok. The videos gained wide attention from the rugby community which lead to Ford-Robinson winning Premiership Rugby's Community Player of the Month.[3] [11]
Ford-Robinson came off the bench as a substitute for the Gloucester side that defeated Leicester in the 2023–24 Premiership Rugby Cup final to lift the trophy.[12] At the end of that season he started in the final of the 2023–24 EPCR Challenge Cup at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which they lost against Sharks to finish runners up.[13]
In 2014 Ford-Robinson played for England Counties XV against a Georgian side.[4] While at Bristol, Ford-Robinson was noticed by coach Eddie Jones who selected him for a senior side for a non-cap friendly against the Barbarians at Twickenham on 28 May 2017. Ford-Robinson come off the bench as a substitute.[14] [15] He was subsequently included in their 2017 tour of Argentina squad as injury cover for Nick Schonert.[16]