| Full name | Simon John Mason | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 22 October 1973 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Wirral, England | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Simon John Mason (born 22 October 1973) is an English-born former Ireland rugby union international.
Mason was born and raised in Wirral but has Irish grandparents, thus qualifying for Ireland.[1] He attended St Anselm's College in Birkenhead, where he was a teammate of future England player Austin Healey.[2]
A fullback, Mason was capped three times for Ireland in 1996, for two Five Nations matches and then the country's first ever Test loss to Samoa. He was one of eight Irish players to be dropped following the Samoa match.[3]
Mason played Premiership Rugby for Richmond in 1997–98, then had two seasons at Ulster. He won the 1999 Heineken Cup title with Ulster and accumulated 144 points during the campaign, going on to be named Ulster's "Player of the Year".[4]
Following his time in Northern Ireland, Mason signed a three-year contract with Stade Français in the Top 14, but left after one season.[5] He spent the next three seasons in Italy playing for Treviso.[6]