Players / My World

Tom Croft

/ Leicester Tigers and England

Born in Basingstoke, Crofty burst onto the scene with some eye-catching displays in the latter half of Leicester's double-winning season. Together his versatility and pace makes him a unique talent, and after taking up rugby aged only 11, he has represented England at U18, U21, 7's, Saxons and now he’s mixing it with the big boys, and he’s still only 22… Not bad eh!

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I played football for my local village After they folded I took a chance on rugby and it paid off. It wasn’t until 2001, when I first spoke to the Tigers, and they put me in touch with Oakham School, that I began to take rugby seriously.

 

You set yourself realistic goals at the start of the season I’m not a regular starter at Leicester so playing for England is an added bonus. I need to be as realistic as possible with my targets and just continue to work hard. James Haskell, Michael Lipman, and Nick Easter - they’re all world-class players and have a few more caps than I do. I’ve got to prove to Brian Ashton and the coaches that I’m of a similar quality, so I’ve got a lot of work to do.

 

I found out watching TV. I literally woke up and watched the squad announced on Sky Sports. It was quite nice to wake up to, but I was a bit spaced out until 3pm.

 

The England call-up came as a massive surprise. At the start of the season, I was hoping to have some involvement with the Saxons and I’d heard Brian would be sticking with the more experienced players, but I’m overjoyed that he’s picked a few more uncapped players and given me a chance.

 

My main asset is my pace Lipman and Haskell are both very quick players but speed is a major part of my game. I’ll just keep turning up to training and work as hard as I can, and if Brian sees enough quality in me and he feels he can use me in the side, then I’ll just do the best I can.

 

I still make mistakes I don’t have the perfect game but who does? Obviously, Brian has seen a part of my game that English rugby can use and I’m very grateful that he’s decided to give me a go.