He was born 1 September 1973 in Nairobi, Kenya. At, he is one of the tallest men to have played for England. Shaw has represented England at various levels including students and Under-21s. He played for Bristolat 17. This was despite not taking up the game seriously until he was 16, just after his family had moved to England from Spain. He was educated at Runnymede College, in Madrid and at Godalming College in Surrey. He also played for Cranleigh Rugby Club in his younger years, and often returns to train with the youth teams.
Playing style
Despite Shaw's hefty size, he was a very skilful and athletic player with good hands and an impressive ability to get around the field. He was also known for being very effective in the maul.
He won his first England cap against Italy in 1996. The following year Shaw was picked for the successful 1997 British Lions tour to South Africa. A spate of injuries and Wasps' indifferent form in his first season at the club cost him his England place and although he regained his place in the England squad for the following summer's tour, he was forced to withdraw with a long-standing back injury. During the 2000 Six Nations Championship, he had to step in for the injured Martin Johnson. He earned his 20th cap during the 2003 Six Nations Championship, a tournament which saw England win the Grand Slam. Shaw played in all three 2003 Rugby World Cup warm up matches. He was not named in the original 30-man squad but was flown out to Australia due to an injury to Danny Grewcock, earning him an MBE as part of the World Cup winning team. He keeps this in a drawer as he feels he didn't "win" it as he never played in a test. Shaw was called up to the squad for the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand after Irish lock Malcolm O'Kelly aggravated a groin injury in training. Shaw was selected as a member of the England 2007 Rugby World Cup squad. Shaw played the full 80 minutes in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final. In recognition of his continued good form with club and country, Shaw was selected for the 2009 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa. This made him the oldest person to ever be selected and play for a Lions team. In South Africa he was awarded his first Lions cap on his third tour when he was selected to start in the second test against the Springboks at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria and he put in one of the most outstanding performances by a British and Irish lock in a test match, with his performance subsequently earning him man of the match. During the third test in Johannesburg he was yellow-carded for dirty play when he knee-dropped Fourie du Preez. In 2004 he was red-carded for a similar offence against the All Blacks. In August 2011 he was selected as part of England's 30-man squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. In 2011, Simon Shaw became a director of Rugby Hospitality company .
