Ellis Genge (born 16 February 1995) is an English professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player who plays as a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

for

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

club

Bristol Bears Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 1 ...

. He made his international debut for in 2016. Genge played 26 times for

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in a first spell between 2013 and 2016, before joining Leicester Tigers where he played 111 times between 2016 and 2022. He was Leicester captain as they won the

2021-22 Premiership Rugby Increment or incremental may refer to: * Incrementalism, a theory (also used in politics as a synonym for gradualism) * Increment and decrement operators, the operators ++ and -- in computer programming * Incremental computing *Incremental backup, ...

title. He is known for his aggressive ball carrying and gain line success.

Early life

Born in

Genge grew up on the

Knowle West Knowle West is a neighbourhood situated on a low plateau in the south of Bristol, England, about 2 miles (3 km) from the centre of the city. Historically in Somerset, most of the area is coterminous with the Filwood ward of Bristol City ...

council estate, and was educated at

John Cabot Academy John Cabot Academy (formerly John Cabot CTC) is one of 15 City Technology Colleges that first opened for students in the 1993/1994 academic year. It has since converted to Academy status on 1 September 2007. It is located east of Bristol, Englan ...

. He started playing rugby aged twelve at Old Redcliffians playing in the back row. At sixteen, Genge moved to

Hartpury College Hartpury University and Hartpury College, formerly Hartpury College, is a provider of further and higher education which describes itself as specialising in the "agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing" sectors. The university a ...

and captained their rugby team to victory in the AASE league. Genge represented England at youth level from U17 up to U20. According to Genge, he was first introduced to the front row by former England youth coach Bobby Walsh originally to have as an additional option but this eventually resulted in a permanent career change.

Career

Bristol (2013–2016)

Genge joined

at the age of eighteen and was convinced to change position from back row to

by the offer of a two-year contract if he made the positional change. He went on loan to Clifton to play loosehead prop in National 2 South during the 2014–2015 season starting thirteen games and coming on as a substitute in one other match. Genge made his professional debut for Bristol on 8 December 2013 in the British and Irish Cup against Scottish side

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, scoring a try in a 62–7 win. His first league game in the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

came against London Scottish on 26 September 2014. Genge represented England at under-17 level. He was a member of the England Under-20 squad that won the

2015 Six Nations Under 20s Championship The 2015 Six Nations Under 20s Championship was a rugby union competition held between February and March 2015. England won the championship. However, no team won either a Grand Slam or the Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse ...

. Later that year he started for the side that lost to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the final of the

2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the eighth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised for the second time in Italy by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations played i ...

to finish runners up. He made 26 appearances during his first spell at the club.

Early time at Leicester Tigers & England debut (2016–2018)

Genge gained the attention of Richard Cockerill, moving to Leicester Tigers on loan in February 2016. The move was, in part, due to off-field issues, including being arrested after an away game against

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

in 2015. He made his Leicester debut as substitute against

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. ...

on 12 March 2016, replacing

Marcos Ayerza Marcos Ayerza (born January 12, 1983 in Buenos Aires) is a former Argentine rugby union rugby player who played loose-head prop for the Leicester Tigers and his national team. His passion and aggression on the field earned him the nickname "El Toro ...

, and his first start came on 7 May 2016 against Bath at the Rec. The move to Leicester was made permanent on 26 May 2016. In May 2016 Genge received his first call-up to the senior

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

squad by coach Eddie Jones after only one start for Leicester. On 29 May 2016 he made his international debut as a second-half substitute during a 27–13 win against at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

. Genge was included on the 2016 England rugby union tour of Australia but was not used in any of the matches. Genge became a regular for Leicester in the 2016–17 season playing a club-leading 31 matches in the season. It was during this campaign he started for the side that defeated

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played its home m ...

in the final of the 2016–17 Anglo-Welsh Cup. The season ended with him named the club's young player of the year and winning the Premiership Discovery of the Season Award. At the end of the season with

Joe Marler Joseph William George Marler (born 7 July 1990) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a Rugby union positions#Prop, prop for Harlequin F.C., Harlequins in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership. He is also one of the hosts of T ...

and Mako Vunipola selected for the

2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand The British & Irish Lions toured New Zealand during June and July 2017. The Lions, a rugby union team selected from players eligible to represent England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales, played ten matches: against all five New Zealand Super Rugby f ...

, Genge made his first start for England on their tour of Argentina. On 2 December 2017 Genge suffered a shoulder injury in a league match against Wasps. After four months injured he returned to the starting line up on 7 April 2018 against Bath in a match at

Rugby World Cup (2019)

Genge scored his first international try in a warm-up game for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

against

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St James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Pa ...

. He was selected for his first world cup and made two substitute appearances at the tournament both during the pool stage against and

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. He did not participate in the knockout phase as England finished runners up to .

Leicester Tigers captain & England regular starter (2020–2022)

Genge scored the winning try against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

during the

2020 Six Nations Championship The 2020 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 21st Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland ...

. After the delay caused by the COVID Pandemic lockdown he came off the bench in the final round of the competition as England beat Italy to win the tournament. Genge started for England as they defeated

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in extra time to win the

Autumn Nations Cup The Autumn Nations Cup was a rugby union competition held in November and December 2020 in place of the usual Autumn internationals series typically held in the same period each year, as many teams were avoiding extended travel due to the COVID- ...

. For Leicester, Genge scored a try against Ulster in the semi-final of the 2021 EPCR Challenge Cup as Leicester came back from an 11-point half-time deficit to win. He then started in the final as they finished runners up to Montpellier by a single point. In July 2021 Genge scored a try against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Genge captained Leicester for the first time in September 2020, a 54–7 defeat away to

, and was appointed as the club's permanent captain, replacing Tom Youngs, before the

season. Genge lead Leicester to their first league title for nine seasons as they beat Saracens 15–12 in the 2022 Premiership Final.

Return to Bristol Bears (2022–)

On 15 December 2021 it was confirmed that Genge would leave Leicester in the summer of 2022 to re-join

. The signing was announced with a video that caused controversy. Genge revealed that closeness to family and the ability to see them regularly played a key part in his decision, with covid lockdowns having caused him to re-assess his priorities. Genge was included in the squad for the 2022 tour of Australia and scored a try in the first test match, which England lost 30–28. He was prominent during the second test victory in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

and then started again in the decisive final match as England defeated Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground to win the series. On 21 November 2022, Genge was named in

World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

's ''team of the year'' as the best loosehead prop.

Style of play

Genge's scrummaging has benefited from the tutelage of veteran internationals

and Dan Cole. He is known for his very powerful ball-carrying skills, aggression and work-rate.

Personal life

Genge has

developmental coordination disorder Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), also known as developmental motor coordination disorder, developmental dyspraxia or simply dyspraxia from the word 'praxis' meaning to do or act, is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaire ...

(dyspraxia).

International tries

''As of 13 November 2022''

Honours

England * Six Nations Championship:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

runner-up:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Leicester Tigers * Premiership: 2021–22 *

Anglo-Welsh Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

: 2016–17 *

EPCR Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...

runner up: 2020–21

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Genge, Ellis 1995 births Living people Bristol Bears players England international rugby union players English rugby union players Leicester Tigers players Rugby union players from Bristol Rugby union props