Tom Palmer (born 27 March 1979 in Harringay,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) is a former English

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. His position is a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

Early career

He started playing mini rugby at age five with Barnet. Aged six he moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

with his family, where he played for

Boroughmuir RFC Boroughmuir RFC is a rugby union football club in the Scottish Rugby Union. The club's home ground is Meggetland, in southwest Edinburgh and the club plays in the , where they are known as the Boroughmuir Bears. Founded in 1919 and admitted ...

minis and

Boroughmuir High School Boroughmuir High School is a non-denominational secondary school in Edinburgh, Scotland. Buildings It was founded in 1904, and located at 22–24 Warrender Park Crescent, overlooking Bruntsfield Links, in a building designed by John Alexan ...

until he was 16. After his Highers, Palmer deferred his place at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

for a year while he went 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 coun ...

. He spent 18 months at

Otago Boys' High School , motto_translation = "The ‘right’ learning builds a heart of oak" , type = State secondary, day and boarding , established = ; years ago , streetaddress= 2 Arthur Street , region = Dunedin , state = Otago , zipcod ...

, where he played for

New Zealand Schoolboys The New Zealand Schools rugby union team, commonly referred to as the New Zealand schoolboys rugby team, is composed of secondary school students in New Zealand. Many of the players have gone on to play for professional clubs or provinces or for ...

before returning to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

to start a degree course in

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

at the

Club career

He joined

Leeds Tykes Leeds Tykes (formerly Leeds RUFC, Leeds Carnegie and Yorkshire Carnegie) is an English rugby union club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the National League 1. The club was founded as Headingley FC, but renamed in 1991 when ...

in 1997 and played for the U19's during his first year at university. He also won selection for the Scotland U19 and U21 sides. He then studied part-time when he was drafted into the first team squad in September 1998. He became the Tykes' first

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 ...

international and the club's second longest serving player after

Mike Shelley Mike Shelley (born 13 March 1972 in Leeds) is a former rugby union player who became the longest serving player in the history of Leeds Tykes rugby club, having joined them in 1996 from West Hartlepool. He made his Tykes debut against Otley RU ...

. Palmer made his debut against Blackheath on 2 September 1998, making a total of 10 appearances for the Tykes during his first season when they finished in 6th place in

National Division 2 National Division 2 is the fourth tier of rugby league in France, below the National Division 1. The season runs from September to April. The Division is split into 5 regional leagues, Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrenees, Aquitaine, Ile de Fran ...

. Palmer became a regular first team player during the 1999-00 National Division One, missing only 4 games throughout the season. The most notable game for Palmer was against

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

in November 1999 when he scored his first try in the 20–9 win at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

. In the 2000–01 National Division One the Tykes finished top of Division 1. Palmer again played an important role in the side, making a total 20 appearances and scoring 8 tries. In the Tetley's Bitter Cup competition in October, Palmer was one of nine try scorers who helped the Tykes to a magnificent 100–0 win over Morley. Tom Palmer

In the Tykes' first season in the Premiership, the 2001–02 Zurich Premiership. Palmer began in his now regular central role, making 15 appearances, however during a game between

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of em ...

and

Wales A Wales A , also known as Wales Dragonhearts, is an amateur international rugby league side that competed in the Skanska Amateur Four Nations. The players are picked from the Conference League South The Southern Conference League is a Britis ...

Palmer broke his leg. The injury meant that the loss against

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

in March was the last game he featured in during the season. Palmer became one of four players to have played 100 games for the Tykes, he also became the club's youngest captain and collected a

Powergen Cup The RFU Knockout Cup was an English rugby union competition open to any member of the Rugby Football Union. First contested in 1971, it was the premier competition in English club rugby before the establishment of the English league structure in 1 ...

winners medal, the final of which he started. Palmer joined London Wasps after

were relegated from the 2005–06 Guinness Premiership, overall, he made 188 appearances at Leeds between 1998 and 2006 scoring 20 tries. At Wasps he quickly became first choice lock, winning the

2006–07 Heineken Cup The 2006–07 Heineken Cup was the 12th edition of the European Heineken Cup rugby union club tournament. The pool draw took place on 21 June at Twickenham. The pool stages started on 20 October and concluded in January, going for six rounds. Fol ...

and the 2007–08 Guinness Premiership. Palmer signed for

Stade Français Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...

in the summer of 2009. On 13 February 2012, Palmer returned to London Wasps from France on a two-year deal for the next season. On 28 March 2014 it was announced that Palmer would join Gloucester Rugby at the end of the season. On 2 June 2015, Palmer joined Italy region Benetton Treviso in the

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Af ...

from the 2015–16 season. On 27 September 2016, Palmer signed as a medical joker for French club Bordeaux Begles in the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

for the rest of the 2016–17 season.

International career

He earned a place in the

squad whilst still playing in

National Division One 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 ...

and was then rewarded with a place on the England Summer tour to North America in 2001. After appearing in the midweek sides, he won his first senior cap as a replacement for Steve Borthwick in the final 10 minutes of England's victory over the

United States 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

on 16 June 2001. Palmer was back to full fitness for the start of the

2002–03 Zurich Premiership The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

and did not miss a game for the Tykes during the entire Zurich Premiership campaign. In the summer of 2003 he was selected for England's summer tour to New Zealand and Australia and then joined up with the squad for the 2003 Churchill Cup in

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 to ...

, only to pick up a serious knee injury that took six months to put right. In March 2004, he was vice captain to

Mike Catt Michael John Catt OBE (born 17 September 1971) is a South African-born former rugby union player who played for the England national rugby union team. He played professionally for the clubs London Irish and Bath. He earned 75 international caps ...

in the England Saxons side narrowly defeated 22–26 by

France A France A, also known as France XV and France B in the past, was the former name of the second national rugby union team of France behind the French national side. In 2011 the French Rugby Federation designated the France U20 team as the secon ...

. After playing in the

2007 Six Nations Championship The 2007 Six Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 113th series of the international championship. Fifteen mat ...

, Palmer made the training squad for the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

. He did not make the final 30-man squad. He played for

as they defeated the

Ireland Wolfhounds The Ireland Wolfhounds (formerly Ireland A and Ireland B) are the second national rugby union team of Ireland, behind the Ireland national team. They previously competed in the Churchill Cup together with the England Saxons, the national teams ...

on 1 February 2008. In the summer of 2010, Palmer started as England defeated

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

. He played for

in the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South ...

References

External links

Leeds profileWasps profileGloucester Rugby profileBenetton Treviso Profile

England profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Tom 1979 births Living people Alumni of the University of Leeds Boroughmuir RFC players England international rugby union players English expatriate rugby union players English expatriate sportspeople in France English rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in France Leeds Tykes players People educated at Boroughmuir High School People from Harringay Rugby union locks Rugby union players from Harringay Stade Français players Wasps RFC players