Hallam Players: Hall of Fame
(A Work in Progress)
Lee Blackett
Leeds Tykes initially signed Blackett, a former Rotherham Earth Titans captain, in February 2006. Lee made his debut for the Tykes against Leicester Tigers in March 2006 in the Guinness Premiership.
A product of the Rotherham Academy, Blackett was one of the Titans more consistent players after breaking through to the first XV, going onto make 50 appearances for the club and later being honoured with the role of captain at just the age of 23. Blackett gained representative honours with England counties and was part of the squad that went on tour to South America.
Blackett has plenty of experience playing in National Division One and whilst with Rotherham was regarded as one of the division's top players, with a strong reputation as a reliable defender. Despite only joining the Tykes until the end of the 2005-06 season, Blackett was one of the few players who committed their future to the club at the end of the season.
Lee attended and represented Sheffield Hallam University's 1st XV in Rugby Union where he played alongside Sean Lamont & David Strettle.
On 21 March 2008, Blackett scored the Guinness Premiership's fastest ever try against Newcastle Falcons, crossing the try line after just 8.2 seconds.
Match Report 'Fastest Try' - http://www.skysports.com/rugbyunion/match_report/0,20244,11069_2966517,00.html
Chris Jones Dave Strettle Tom Eaton Dan Naylor David Barnes Lee Blackett Sean Lamont
Sean Lamont
Northampton Saints and Scotland winger Sean moved to Glasgow from Rotherham in 2003 and finished his first season as Glasgow's Player of the Year.
Sean made his debut for Scotland against Samoa and has earned 21 caps, and scored a brace of tries over France to clinch a Six Nations win over France at Murrayfield. Scotland also beat England in the Calcutta Cup and Sean was selected to tour South Africa.
However, back at Franklin's Gardens Sean ended the season with the knowledge that he is the only Saints player to have scored four tries in the Premiership era. That personal tally was created on a memorable day in February when Saints ran riot over a struggling Saracens.
Ex-SHU Rugby player Sean has kept the SHU Rugby Nude Calendar spirit alive by being the most talked about and most impressive (!) guest rugby player invited to appear in the world renowned (and our rivals!) Dieux Du Stade nude calendar produced by French rugby club Stade Francais.
In early 2008 Monty appeared alongside Ainsley Harriot on Celebrity Ready Steady Cook.
Chris Jones Christopher Michael Jones born 24 June 1980 in Manchester. A product of Stockport Grammar School and Sheffield Hallam University, he played for Cheshire at U18 and U20 level, then briefly with Fylde before joining Sale Sharks senior side. Chris made a startling rise to the England Sevens squad, and was nominated for the 2003 PRA Young Player of the Year Award. He was part of the England A team that beat France A, Scotland A and Italy A in their 2003 RBS 6 Nations, and also went on the unbeaten England tour to North America and Japan that year. He played for England in the uncapped match against the Barbarians at Twickenham in May 2003. The year 2004 marked another leap forward. He was called up to the senior team by then head coach Clive Woodward from the start of the RBS 6 Nations. He came off the bench against Italy for his debut cap and promptly scored a try. This earned him a starting position against Scotland as flanker and again against Wales from where he continued to impress. He made the 2004 Summer tour, starting against the All Blacks in Dunedin in the first Test. An all rounder as a schoolboy, enjoying cricket, his rugby career blossomed when he moved up into the senior school of Stockport Grammar and came under the influence of coach Chris Wright. He went on to take a Business Studies course at Sheffield Hallam University and was three years into it when Sale Sharks invited him to join them.
