Background
He started playing rugby union at the age of eight at his local club, Maidstone Football Club, inspired by his father, who was a property
sports commentator rugby union player
He started playing rugby union at the age of eight at his local club, Maidstone Football Club, inspired by his father, who was a property
Dulwich College; Maidstone Grammar School.
He was a prop for Bath and the England national rugby union team A product of Dulwich College, he appeared in the same England Schools (18-group) squad as Steve Borthwick, Andrew Sheridan (also of Dulwich College), Alex Sanderson, Mike Tindall and Jonny Wilkinson. Flatman toured Australia with England Schools in 1997 and the following year went to Argentina with England Colts.
He represented London & South-West and England Under-21s against South Africa in the autumn of 1998.
He made a second tour with the England side to North America in the summer of 2001, appearing as a replacement for Graham Rowntree in the Burnaby and San Francisco Tests against Canada and the United States respectively. He had a wealth of A team experience having been a regular in the side since making his debut against France in Blagnac in 2000.
He had a sequence of seven England A team games before being recalled to the senior squad for the final test of the 2000-2001 season against France at Twickenham. He moved to Bath in 2003, where he proved himself to be one of the finest front row forwards in English rugby union with his sterling performances in a revamped Bath pack.
He would surely have added to his eight caps on England"s summer tour of New Zealand and Australia had injury not blighted his efforts.
Flatman announced his retirement from rugby on 15 June 2012. Following the end of his playing career, he was Head of Communications at Bath Rugby for two years. He left this role in 2014.
Media Flatman now works as a pundit for Independent Television Sport alongside Mark Durden-Smith.