Stevens
Matt Stevens is a former England prop who also represented Bath, Saracens, the Sharks and Toulon.
Matt Stevens Bio
Matt Stevens is a former England prop who also represented Bath, Saracens, the Sharks and Toulon. During his highly distinguished career, he was notably banned for two years after failing a drugs test.
Born in Durban on 1 October 1982, Matt Stevens played his youth rugby in South Africa. During this time, he earned representative honours for Western Province, South African Universities and the Junior Springboks (at U18 and U19 level). However, he ultimately decided to move to England to pursue his university studies.
After arriving in England, Matt Stevens signed for Bath. In total, between 2002 and 2009, Matt Stevens made 120 appearances for Bath and firmly established himself as one of the Premiership’s top props.
However, on 20 January 2009, it was announced that Matt Stevens had failed a drugs test following a Heineken Champions Cup match. He was subsequently banned from rugby for two years and left Bath before he was sacked.
At the conclusion of his ban, Matt Stevens signed for Saracens. Immediately, he proved that he was still an elite operator and he started for the Saracens side that defeated Leicester Tigers in the 2010-11 Premiership final.
At the end of his Saracens contract in 2014, Matt Stevens decided to leave England and return to South Africa. Between 2014 and 2015, he then represented the Sharks in Super Rugby and the Currie Cup. Following this, he spent the final season of his career with Toulon in France.
As well as enjoying a distinguished domestic career, Matt Stevens was capped 39 times by England between 2004 and 2012. In addition, he was also called up to two British and Irish Lions squads. However, he never made a test appearance for the side.
Since retiring from rugby in 2016, Matt Stevens has returned to South Africa. He now works in the hospitality industry.
