Education
Melville attended Aireborough Grammar School and North East London polytechnic.
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Nigel Melville
Edit ProfileCareer
Melville became the youngest player to captain England on his début when he led them against Australia in November 1984. He went onto make another twelve appearances over the next four years. He played club rugby for Otley R.U.F.C., Wakefield Reconstruction Finance Corporation and Wasps Football Club. Melville was captain of the England Schools 19 age group on their tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1979, England B – the youngest captain at the time, England Under 23 on their tour of Romania in 1983.
Melville earned 13 caps for England.
He captained the full England side seven times, winning four games. Melville toured with England to Argentina in 1981, North America in 1982 and New Zealand in 1985.
Melville was a replacement for the injured Terry Holmes on the British Lions tour to New Zealand in 1983 but picked up a spinal injury in his second game and took no further part on the tour. Melville"s career was blighted by a number of serious injuries including a serious neck injury, shoulder damage, five knee operations and a chipped ankle.
These partly restricted the number of matches he played for England.
During his playing career, Melville was the Head of United Kingdom Promotions for Nike working alongside elite athletes from a wide range of sports. On retirement, Melville entered coaching and as Director of Rugby at London Wasps, Melville coached the team to their first professional Premiership title in 1996, followed by three National Cup Final appearances, winning two. In 2002 he moved to Gloucester Rugby, winning the Zurich Championship Final, Powergen Cup and topped the Zurich Premiership table by a record 15 clear points.
He left in 2005.
Melville was appointed Chief Executive Officer and President of Rugby Operations for United States of America Rugby on 11 October 2006. At the time his Roberts" appointment, United States of America Rugby had 80,000 registered players in the United States. One of the goals that United States of America Rugby chairman Kevin Roberts set for Melville in 2006 was for the United States. national team to reach the 2011 Rugby World Cup quarterfinals. Under Melville"s tenure, United States of America Rugby began its "rookie rugby" program, exposing young people to the sport of rugby.
Melville predicted in 2012 that professional rugby would come to the United States by 2015.
Melville was criticised for arranging a money spinning match for the United States Eagles against the world champions New Zealand outwith the designated Institutional Review Board international window in November 2014.
