Tom Croft

Last updated • 5 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Tom Croft
Tom Croft 2012.jpg
Birth nameThomas Richard Croft
Date of birth (1985-11-07) 7 November 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth Basingstoke, England
Height1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight110 kg (17 st 5 lb; 243 lb) [1]
School Park House School
Oakham School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker, Lock
Current team Leicester Tigers
Youth career
Newbury RFC
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2005–2017 Leicester Tigers 173 (135)
Correct as of 16 November 2017
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2007 England Saxons
2008–2015 England 40 (20)
2009, 2013 British & Irish Lions 5 (10)
Correct as of 1 March 2015
National sevens team
YearsTeamComps
2006 England 7s

Tom Croft (born 7 November 1985) is a retired rugby union player. He played 173 games for Leicester Tigers between 200517 winning four Premiership Rugby titles, played 40 times for England between 20082015, was part of the squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and the British & Irish Lions in 2009 to South Africa and 2013 to Australia. [2] His career was somewhat plagued with a variety of minor and serious injuries.

Contents

Background

Born 7 November 1985 in Basingstoke, England, Croft initially went to Park House School, a comprehensive school in Newbury, Berkshire, [3] before going to Oakham School in Rutland where he was in the same year as England cricketer Stuart Broad. [4]

Playing style

Croft's best position was blindside flanker. He was known for his line-out agility [5] and unusual speed for a forward; [6] one of the quickest players in the Tigers squad [7] his coach Aaron Mauger described him as the " fastest loose forward he had ever seen". [8]

After scoring two tries against his Harlequins side in 2008 Dean Richards described Croft as an "outstanding talent" who "has everything", [9] Martin Corry said England have never had a player blessed with Croft's abundant abilities. [10]

Club career

Croft's senior debut for Leicester Tigers came against Gloucester in the 2005–06 season, a week after he turned 20. In the following season, which included a Premiership title and the Anglo-Welsh Cup for the Tigers, he made 16 appearances.

2008–09 could be considered Croft's breakthrough season, in which he established himself both in the club side and on the international scene. He was man-of-the-match in the Heineken Cup semi-final against Cardiff Blues, which resulted in a historic sudden death kicking competition. [11] The shoot-out ended before Croft's turn came up as Jordan Crane made the winning kick. [12] Although the Tigers fell at the final hurdle of the Heineken Cup, they won the 2008–09 Guinness Premiership. Croft played lock in both finals, as a result of injury to teammate Louis Deacon. [13]

The following season didn't quite match up to the previous for Croft, due in no small part to the two knee injuries he sustained, one after the other in the middle of the season. He worked his way back successfully, however, and featured in another Premiership final victory, this time at blindside flanker. [14]

Croft captained the Tigers for the first time on 3 October 2010, against Saracens. [15]

Croft suffered two major injuries whilst on club duty. First, in an April 2012 Premiership match against Harlequins Croft mistimed tackle on Nick Easter and suffered a triple fracture of his C6 vertebra, [16] a specialist described the injury "as close as you can to being paralysed", [6] He returned to the Tigers after 8 months injured in January 2013 against Worcester. [16]

In 2013 Croft played in his third victorious Premiership final. [17]

Then, in the 2013–14 Premiership opener against Worcester in September, he suffered a season-ending cruciate ligament injury. [18]

In November 2017, Croft announced his immediate retirement from rugby following a new neck injury and consulting a specialist. [19] His final appearance was on 11 March 2017 against Saracens in the semi-final of the Anglo-Welsh Cup, Croft was a substitute as Leicester won 32–10. [20]

International career

Croft was called up to the England squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship. [21] [22] He had already been selected for the England Saxons and England Sevens sides. [23]

Croft gained his first England cap in the 2008 Six Nations win against France in Paris. [24] He was then named in Martin Johnson's squad on 1 June 2008. He gained starting places in the squad at blindside flanker for three games against the Pacific Islanders, Australia and South Africa, before being named on the bench against New Zealand. Croft was awarded man of the match when England defeated France 34–10 at Twickenham in the 2009 Six Nations Championship.

On 20 May 2009, Croft was called up to the squad by coach Ian McGeechan for the Lions 2009 tour of South Africa as a replacement for the banned Alan Quinlan. [25]

Croft then subsequently started the first two tests against South Africa, and came off the bench in the 3rd test. He scored two tries in the first test defeat – becoming the first Lions forward to score twice against the Springboks.

In November 2009, Croft was nominated for the IRB Player of the Year for 2009, [26] though the award went to Richie McCaw. Despite making the shortlist and having started the first two games of the Autumn Internationals, Croft found himself demoted to the bench for the third test, against New Zealand. [27] Injury to Joe Worsley saw him take the field within the first five minutes, however.

Croft's second knee injury in the 2009–10 season saw him miss out on the 2010 Six Nations entirely, [28] though he regained his starting place from James Haskell for the Australian summer tour. [29] He switched to openside flanker to cover injured captain Lewis Moody halfway through the second half of the first Test, which England lost 27–17. [30] The second Test saw England beat Australia 20–21. [31] This was only the third time that England had managed to beat Australia in Australia.

Croft took part in the 2010 Autumn Internationals, starting in both the loss to New Zealand [32] and the win against Australia, the latter cited by many to have been the best England performance for years. [33] In 2011 he was part of the England team that came within a game of a grand slam. 2012 saw Croft play in every single game of that year's Six Nations, His form continued to improve throughout the Championship and he played a starring role in the game against France which saw him score a wonderful try after a searing burst of pace. The last game against Ireland, saw him make a 50-yard burst which almost brought about a try. Croft was ruled out of the rest of Leicester's season after a neck injury. His first try for England came as a replacement for James Haskell against Samoa. [34]

In April 2013, Croft was selected for the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia. He started the first test in a 23–21 win over Australia and came off the bench in the 16–15 second test defeat. [35]

Croft made his international return two years later during the 2015 Six Nations against Italy and Ireland in his final England appearance. [36]

International Tries

[37]

England

TryOpposing teamLocationVenueCompetitionDateResultScore
1Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa London, England Twickenham Stadium 2010 end-of-year rugby union internationals 20 November 2010Win26 – 13
2Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland London, England Twickenham Stadium 2011 Six Nations Championship 13 March 2011Win22 – 16
3Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Dunedin, New Zealand Otago Stadium 2011 Rugby World Cup 24 September 2011Win67 – 3
4Flag of France.svg  France Saint-Denis, France Stade de France 2012 Six Nations Championship 11 March 2012Win22 – 24

British & Irish Lions

TryOpposing teamLocationVenueCompetitionDateResultScore
1Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Durban, South Africa ABSA Stadium 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa 20 June 2009Loss26 – 21
2

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leicester Tigers</span> English rugby union club, based in Leicester

Leicester Tigers are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Corry (rugby union)</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Martin Edward Corry MBE is a retired English rugby union player who represented and captained England and Leicester Tigers in a career spanning 14 seasons. Corry played 64 times for England between 1997 and 2007, played 7 tests for the British & Irish Lions on tours in 2001 & 2005, and played 290 times for Leicester between 1997 and 2009. Earlier in his career he played top division rugby for Newcastle Gosforth and Bristol. A versatile player his principal positions were number eight and blindside flanker, he also played lock more as his career progressed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Ellis</span> English rugby union footballer

Harry Alistair Ellis is an English former rugby union footballer who played scrum half for Leicester Tigers, England and the British & Irish Lions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Hodgson</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Charles Christopher Hodgson is a retired English rugby union player, having previously been a player for Sale Sharks and Saracens. His position was fly-half and he is the leading Premiership points scorer of all time. Hodgson also played for England, until announcing his international retirement in 2012. Hodgson made 18 consecutive starts at fly half for England between 2004 and 2006.

Joseph Paul Richard Worsley, is a retired English rugby union player who played flanker for Wasps and England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Borthwick</span> England international rugby union player and head coach

Stephen William Borthwick is an English rugby union coach and former player, who is currently the head coach of the England national team. As a player, he played as a lock for Bath and Saracens. At international level, he played for England 57 times from his debut in 2001; he served as captain from 2008 until he was dropped from the side in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Varndell</span> England international rugby union player

Tom Varndell is an English rugby union player who plays on the wing as a player-coach for Bury St Edmunds. Varndell also has caps for England and England Sevens, as well as having represented other Premiership Rugby sides Bristol Bears and Wasps. He is the second highest try scorer in Premiership Rugby after Chris Ashton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toby Flood</span> England international rugby union player

Tobias Gerald Albert Cecil Lieven Flood is an English rugby union coach and former player. He is currently kicking and skills coach at Newcastle Falcons in Premiership Rugby. During his playing career his position was fly half or inside centre. He played over 300 games in his club career across his three professional clubs, Newcastle Falcons, Toulouse and Leicester Tigers. He played 60 international matches for England between 2006 and 2014.

Daniel James Hipkiss is a retired rugby union player who won 13 caps for England between 2007–10, including the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final. Hipkiss played 130 times for Leicester Tigers between 2001–11 before moving to Bath prior to retiring in May 2013. Principally an outside centre Hipkiss also played inside centre, and earlier in his career on the wing.

Thomas Nicholas Youngs is a retired rugby union player who played as a hooker for Leicester Tigers and England. Between 2012–2015 he won 28 caps for England, including selection for the 2015 Rugby World Cup and was selected for the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia where he played in all three test matches. He played 215 times for Leicester between 2006 and 2021, winning the Premiership Rugby title in 2013, the same season that he was named as the league's Player of the season. He also won the 2011-12 Anglo-Welsh Cup with Leicester. Between 2009 and 2011 Youngs played 55 matches for Nottingham where he converted from centre to hooker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Youngs</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Benjamin Ryder Youngs is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Premiership Rugby club Leicester Tigers, and is the all time appearance record holder with 127 caps for the England national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Robshaw</span> English international rugby union player

Chris Robshaw is an English former rugby union player. He was the captain of the England national rugby union team from January 2012 until December 2015. Robshaw's position of choice was in the back row of the scrum, usually flanker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Cole (rugby union)</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Daniel Richard Cole is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Premiership Rugby club Leicester Tigers and the England national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoff Parling</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player & coach

Geoff Parling is an English rugby union coach and former player. His usual playing position was lock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manu Tuilagi</span> England international rugby union player

Etuale Manusamoa Tuilagi is a professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for Top 14 club Bayonne. Born in Samoa, he represented England at international level after qualifying on residency grounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courtney Lawes</span> English rugby union player

Courtney Linford Lawes is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for Pro D2 club CA Brive and formerly for the England national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Ford (rugby union)</span> England international rugby union footballer

George Thomas Ford is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Premiership Rugby club Sale Sharks and the England national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonny May</span> England international rugby union player

Jonathan James May is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for Pro D2 club Soyaux Angoulême and formerly for the England national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Watson (rugby union)</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Anthony Kenneth Chisom Watson is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a wing or fullback for Leicester Tigers and the England national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellis Genge</span> England international rugby union player

Ellis Genge is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Premiership Rugby club Bristol Bears and the England national team.

References

  1. "Inside Rugby". Leicester Mercury. 10 September 2014.
  2. "Tom Croft". ESPNscrum. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  3. "England v Wales v rugby: Does a class divide still separate the sport in the two rival nations?". Wales Online. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  4. Tozer, Malcolm, ed. (2012). Physical Education and Sport in Independent Schools. John Catt Educational Ltd. p. 293. ISBN   9781908095442.
  5. "Tom Croft can rule the line-out". BBC. 5 November 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Leicester stalwart Tom Croft battle scarred but happy to be in one piece". The Observer. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  7. "Six Nations player watch – Tom Croft". BBC. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  8. "Tom Croft interview: 'I know I can get back to my prime again'". The Independent. London. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  9. "Harlequins 13-42 Leicester". BBC. 6 January 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  10. "Crafty Croft ready for step up". BBC. 22 January 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2008.
  11. Cleary, Mick (3 May 2009). "Leicester reach Heineken Cup final". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  12. "I enjoyed pressure kick – Crane". BBC Sport. 3 May 2009.
  13. "Leicester 10-9 London Irish". BBC. 16 May 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  14. "Leicester 33-27 Saracens". 29 May 2010.
  15. "Tom Croft to lead out Leicester Tigers". Leicester Tigers website. 1 October 2010.
  16. 1 2 "Tom Croft revisits horror of broken neck but is returning without fear". The Guardian. London. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  17. "Aviva Premiership final: Leicester 37-17 Northampton". BBC. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  18. "Tom Croft ruled out for the season". ESPNscrum. 11 September 2013. Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  19. Sherard, Gary (16 November 2017). "Croft announces his rugby retirement". LeicesterTigers.com. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  20. "Tom Croft: Leicester Tigers forward announces retirement". BBC Sport. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  21. "Vainikolo named in England squad". BBC. 9 January 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  22. "Vainikolo – named in England squad". Sportinglife. 9 January 2008. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  23. "England sevens squad is unveiled". BBC. 4 September 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  24. "Wigglesworth handed England call". BBC. 19 February 2008. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
  25. "Croft given Quinlan's Lions spot". BBC Sport. 20 May 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  26. "O'Driscoll leads IRB nominations". BBC Sport. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  27. "Tom Croft has done nothing wrong, says England coach Martin Johnson". Leicester Mercury. 19 November 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  28. "Tom Croft ruled out of England opening fixtures". The Daily Telegraph. London. 17 January 2010.
  29. Cleary, Mick (11 June 2010). "Australia v England: Martin Johnson's side have a chance to silence the doubters". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  30. "Australia 27–17 England". BBC Sport. 12 June 2010.
  31. "Australia 20–21 England". BBC Sport. 19 June 2010.
  32. "England 16–26 New Zealand". BBC Sport. 6 November 2010.
  33. "England 35–18 Australia". BBC Sport. 13 November 2010.
  34. "England 26–13 Samoa". BBC Sport. 20 November 2010.
  35. "Jonny Wilkinson out but Sam Warburton is captain". BBC Sport. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  36. "Croft comes on for Haskell on return to internationals". 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  37. "Thomas Richard Croft". ESPNscrum. Archived from the original on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2022.