Chris Wyles retired in glory today. The former USA Eagles captain scored two tries for Saracens who defeated the Exeter Chiefs 27-10 to win the English Premiership.
His tries came once in each half. The opening score was in the left corner with Wyles scoring a walk-over try. Try number two was similar with Wyles required to do a little more as he slid over, again touching down in the left corner.
The match was his last for Saracens, bringing to an end a career that saw him making 254 appearances for the Northern London side in the English Premiership.
Wyles was one of three players from the Americas who won today’s Premiership Final. Argentine RWC 2011 and 2015 players Marcelo Bosch and Juan Figallo were both involved as replacements. Bosch made his 121st appearance and Figallo his 90th. The Argentine pair will remain at the club next season.
Wyles joined Saracens in 2008 from rivals the Northampton Saints. His professional career began prior to that for Nottingham in 2004. Some fourteen years later and the phenomenal player from the USA is amazingly making his 250th appearance for Saracens.
In addition to being an outstanding performer for Saracens, the club has been crucial to his success for the USA Eagles. Upon his international retirement following RWC 2015, Wyles had made more appearances at fullback than any other player in Eagles history.
For the Eagles Wyles appeared in three RWCs 2007, 2011 and 2015. He was a try scorer in all three tournaments, crossing against South Africa in 2007, Italy in 2011 and both Samoa and Japan in 2015.
In total he scored 16 tries for the USA in a 54-test career. Yet his achievements go even further with him having had a colored career for the USA Eagles 7’s side. He captained the team from 2007-2009, and in 2016 he would play at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Wyles now retires in glory. Today’s title was his sixth with Saracens. He is a four-time English Premiership champion (2011, 2015, 2016, 2018) and a two-time European Champions Cup winner (2016, 2017).