Haag Martin

 

Player Martin Haag

S Martin Haag

Position: Second Row

Born: 28th July 1968 in Chelmsford, Essex

Height: 6ft 5in

Weight: 16st 7lb

Education: St Ives School and Penwith 6^th Form College

Achievements:

Honours: England Schools, England B, England (2 caps), Barbarians (2 caps)

Debut game: 26th September 1987 v Llanelli

Competitive Debut: 22nd April 1989 v Leicester

Final game: 17th March 2001 v Wasps

Number of Appearances: 309

Career details:

Martin gave Bath fourteen years of service and was rewarded with a testimonial during 2000 against Saracens, a fitting tribute to a real Bath legend, as he passed the 300 game mark for the club. His enduring presence for the club throughout the amateur and professional eras shows the durability of the second row. ‘Haagy’, as he was affectionately known, played his part in numerous Bath triumphs with his crowning glory a brace of tries scored against Wasps in the Pilkington Cup Final of 1995, one of a plethora of honours gained in his career, including a Heineken Cup winners medal. Making his debut in on the 26^th September 1987 in a 14pts-27pts loss at Stradey Park, Llanelli, Martin was to finish with a magnificent total of 304 appearances and 28 tries to his name. Martin’s last appearance in the famous Bath colours was fittingly at the Recreation Ground in a 16pts-13pts win over London Wasps in March 2001. His lack of inches and the commanding form of Martin Johnson denied Martin the chance of a regular starting spot for his country, although he was to gain two well-deserved caps on England’s summer tour of Argentina in 1997. Popular with both fans and players alike Martin will be well missed at the Rec. During the summer of 2001 he signed for Penzance & Newlyn Pirates where he continued to cause problems in the line out. Was still seen around the Rec. as he was appointed assistant to John Palmer, helping with the Youth Development at Bath at the start of the 2001/2002 season.

When he retired from playing in 2003 Martin spent some time at Bristol coaching under his old teammate Richard Hill before becoming became Assistant Forwards Coach at Bath under Steve Meehan and Ian McGeechan before moving to Nottingham RFC where he enjoyed  a highly successful career taking them to second place in the Championship their highest ever finish. He subsequently became Coach to the England U18s and U20s taking  the latter to two U20 World Cup Finals winning one and being runners-up in the other.

Currently he is Head Coach at Rouen where Richard Hill is Director of Rugby. The club look as though they will win promotion to the Second Division of French Rugby.

Bath Rugby Appearances: 1987/1988 – 2000/2001: 295(9)

Bath Rugby Points: 135 – 28t

Bath Rugby Friendly Appearances 2000/2001 – to date: 3

Bath Rugby Friendly Points 2000/2001 – to date: 5 – 1t

England Record: 2 caps: 1997 – Arg (1), Arg (2)

Barbarians Record: 2 caps: 1994 – Gos, Zi

Signed From: St. Ives

Transferred To: Penzance & Newlyn Pirates

Also Played For: Cornwall, Bristol Shoguns

Coached Bedford RFC and subsequently became Head Coach of England U20’s in 2016.