Tom Rees (rugby Union)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Thomas Rees (born 11 September 1984) is an ex-international
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
footballer who played
flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...
for London Wasps and represented England at senior, Under-21, Under-19, Under-18 and Under-16 levels as well as sevens. He announced his retirement due to persistent injuries on 10 March 2012.


Career

Born 11 September 1984 in London, Rees began playing rugby at Harriet Costello Secondary School (now
The Costello School The Costello School is an 11–16 mixed secondary school with academy status in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. It originally opened as Basingstoke High School for girls. It became Harriet Costello Secondary School in 1972 when it became a c ...
) in 1996. He also joined the youth team at Basingstoke RFC the following year. Under the guidance of Andy Bloodworth (of Chineham RFC) and Dave Luff, Rees progressed in the sport, initially playing in the
centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
before eventually specialising at openside flanker. Rees was eventually selected for England U16s, where he was awarded player of the year, and which led to his receiving offers from many Rugby-playing grammar schools: he chose to attend The Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe. Rees went on to play for England U18s and then U19s, being the first-choice openside flanker in both sides. He then signed for London Wasps on an academy contract, and after two years and having just broken into the first team, he was offered a first team contract, which he re-signed on a two-year deal. With Wasps he won both the
Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
in 2007 and the 2008
Guinness Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...
title, scoring a try in the latter final. He returned to action on 27 March 2010 against Northampton, which ended 14 9 to Northampton but this followed wins over Gloucester, Worcester and London Irish. On 10 March 2012, Rees was forced to retire from Rugby on the advice he received after sustaining a knee injury. As of May 2020, Rees is a doctor at
Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital (BNHH) is a 450-bed National Health Service (NHS) hospital in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England run by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It employs around 2,800 staff. Each year it has around 47,000 ...
, having studied at
Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...
.


Representative career

Rees captained the England U21 side in the
Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...
but was not selected for the elite England squad for the 2005 autumn internationals due to a knee injury sustained during the 2005
Zurich Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...
semi-finals. Rees represented England A against Ireland A in early 2006. Rees had a string of injuries during the 2005–06 season, but on his return put in strong performances at Wasps and was granted his place in the full England squad after representing England at all age groups possible. Rees made his full
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
debut on 3 February 2007 against
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, coming on as a substitute for
Joe Worsley Joseph Paul Richard Worsley, (born 14 June 1977) is a retired English rugby union player who played Flanker (rugby union), flanker for Wasps RFC, Wasps and England national rugby union team, England. Biography Worsley was born in London and ...
. Rees started his first game in the 26–18 victory against
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
on 11 March 2007 and was awarded the RBS Man of The Match Award by Brian Moore. Rees also started the next game against
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. Rees made his
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
debut in England's initial group game against
USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
. Despite England under performing Rees was signalled out along with back
Olly Barkley Oliver John Barkley (born 28 November 1981) is a former English rugby union player who played for Bath, Gloucester, Racing Metro, Grenoble, Scarlets and London Welsh at fly-half between 2001 and 2016. Early career Barkley was born in Hammers ...
as two positives from the victory. Rees' second half try in that game put him second behind Nigel Redman as England's youngest try scoring forward during a World Cup Finals event. Despite starting in the following game against
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
Rees failed to make another appearance during the 2007 World Cup. A thigh injury kept him out of the matches against
Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
and
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
and during this time
Lewis Moody Lewis Walton Moody MBE (born 12 June 1978 in Ascot) is an English retired rugby union player. He played for Leicester Tigers and Bath Rugby and was part of the 2003 World Cup winning side. Moody is known for the enthusiasm with which he pl ...
claimed the number 7 shirt for the remainder of the tournament. Despite a supposed lack of form for his club side London Wasps since his return from the World Cup, Rees made Brian Ashton's 32-man training squad for the
2008 Six Nations The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, the 114th series of the international championship. Fifteen ...
and earned a place on the bench for the Six Nations opener against
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
ahead of other open-side specialists Michael Lipman and
Magnus Lund Magnus Lund (born 25 June 1983 in Manchester) is an English rugby union retired player. He was educated at the Lancaster Royal Grammar School where he played for the first XV. He also studied Business Enterprise at the Manchester Metropolitan ...
. Rees' strong form towards the end of the 2007–08 Guinness Premiership saw him selected to travel to New Zealand to represent England in a two-test summer tour. He was then selected to start the first test at number 7 on 14 June 2008, a game which England lost 37–20. Despite England's defeat, Rees had put in a decent performance in that match. Rees was picked to start the second test in Christchurch on 21 June 2008. England were thumped 44–12; however, Rees again put in a performance he could be proud of against the standout openside in world rugby, Richie McCaw.


International tries


References


External links


Guinness Premiership profile

Wasps profile

England profile

Tom Rees photo by sportingheroes.net

Tom Rees Video – Maximuscle Ambassador
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Tom 1984 births Living people Alumni of Imperial College London England international rugby union players English rugby union players Wasps RFC players Rugby union flankers People educated at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe Rugby union players from London 2007 Rugby World Cup players