Topsy Ojo

Infobox Rugby biography
name = Topsy Ojo
birthname = Topsy Ojo
nickname = Turvy, Choccy
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1985|7|28
placeofbirth = Tottenham, London
dateofdeath =
placeofdeath =
ru_position = Wing
ru_nationalteam = England Saxons
England 2 (10)
ru_nationalyears =
2008-

Topsy Ojo (born 28 July 1985) is an English rugby union player for the London Irish club, and is a member of the England national rugby union team squad.

He became a full member of the London Irish squad in April 2006, and now plays wing.

Career

Dopsy Ojo was born in Tottenham, London. His father, Akin Ojo, a thoracic surgeon, and his mother Bola are from south-west Nigeria [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/topsy-ojo-ojo-safely-on-fast-track-in-a-topsyturvy-world-398812.html Topsy Ojo: Ojo safely on fast track in a topsy-turvy world] . "The Independent", Saturday, 3 November 2007.] where Dopsy Ojo is a common Yoruba name. Dopsy Ojo started to play rugby union at Dartford Grammar School at the age of eleven, as well as going on to captain the 1st XV. He also represented Kent and London & South-East Schools at both U16 and U18. After he starting playing some under-19 trial matches and being recommended for the London Irish Academy he went on to join the Sunbury based Academy in July 2003.

He made his English club debut in September 2005 in a match against Bristol. By April 2006 he had joined the full London Irish squad, and now plays wing. He has also been a member of the England Intermediate National Academy at Bath, where he was coached by Brian Ashton and his colleagues, and went onto represent England at the under-19 2003 Six Nations, as well as the FIRA World Cup Championships. He also went onto play for the under-21 English team.

Dopsy Ojo has been tipped to replace Tom Varndell as "the hottest young finisher" by the [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/english/4754737.stm BBC] . He finished the 2005-06 Guinness Premiership season with 14 games in the starting lineup with 7 tries. Despite only being at the club a few years, he has quickly become a firm favourite with the crowdFact|date=December 2007. Ojo scored a try in the London Irish's first premiership game of the 2006–07 season, in which they defeated promoted Harlequins at Twickenham.

On May 29, 2007, Ojo was called up to the full England squad for the first time. Prior to this he had played for England Saxons against the United States in the Churchill Cup, where he scored the Saxons' first try.

He was called into the England Saxons squad to face Italy A in Ragusa, Sicily on 9 February 2008. cite web|url=http://www.rfu.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/RFUHome.England_Detail/StoryID/18872|title=England Saxons training squad for Italy A|publisher=RFU|date=2008-02-04|accessdate=2008-02-05] cite web|url=http://www.quins.co.uk/newspage.ink?nid=38432&newstype=n&matchid=&Refid=|title=Guest, Care and Jarvis join Skinner and Brown in England Saxons squad|publisher=Quins|date=2008-02-04|accessdate=2008-02-05]

On May 13th 2008, Topsy Ojo was named in Martin Johnson's first England squad selection, set to tour New Zealand this summer. He won his first cap on June 14th.Ojo showed both pace and vision in his first game scoring twice in a game where New Zealand were dominant. His first try was an interception of a Daniel Carter pass, before running nearly the length of the pitch (80m) to outpace the New Zealand full back who had to come from the other side of the field. His second try involved picking the ball up after a kick and running it under the posts. On the strength of this performance, Ojo was one of the few England backs to be retained in the starting XV for the second Test in Christchurch.

Controversy

During the tour to New Zealand, Topsy Ojo and several other England players were allegedly involved in a sexual assault late at night on 14 June 2008 after a drinking session following defeat in their first match. [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7464844.stm |title=England four in New Zealand probe |publisher=BBC News|date=20 June 2008] No formal complaint was issued to the New Zealand police However, on 10 July 2008, Ojo along with team-mate Mike Brown was found guilty of misconduct and fined £500 for staying out until after 7.00 the following morning. [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/english/7474155.stm |title=Brown & Ojo guilty of misconduct |publisher=BBC Sport |date=10 July 2008] Danny Care was found not guilty of any misconduct. David Strettle was found not guilty of any misconduct but was warned to not put himself in potentially compromising situations in future.

References

External links

* [http://www.london-irish.com/Team/1st_XV/Topsy_Ojo.html London Irish profile]
* [http://www.england-rugby.com/englandrugby/index.cfm?fuseaction=News.News_Detail&storyid=13049 England profile]