Tom Rees England Profile
Updated December 1, 2008
TOM REES
Club: London Wasps
Position: Flanker
Born: 11.09.84 | London
Height:1.84m (6’ 0’’)
Weight: 99kg (15st 9lb)
Representative honours: England 16 Group, 18 Group, U19s, U21s,
Sevens, A, Saxons
Caps: 15
Points: 5 – 1T
International Record: 2007 S(R), It(R), I(R), F, W, F(1), World Cup – USA, SA 2008 W(R), NZ(1,2), PI, A, SA, NZ(R)
Tom Rees bounced back from an injury-disrupted season to be England’s first choice open-side flanker in June’s two Tests against New Zealand and for the first three Investec Challenge tests in November.
His 2008 RBS 6 Nations campaign started only 15 minutes later than first choice flanker Lewis Moody but was similarly brief.
Replacing the injured Moody early in the first match, Rees saw just 25 minutes of the action before suffering a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee that ruled him out of the rest of the tournament.
He recovered to play a crucial part in London Wasps’ march to the Guinness Premiership title.
Tom attended Harriet Costello Comprehensive School before moving on to RGS High Wycombe, which produced England scrum halves Matt Dawson and the late Nick Duncombe.
A product of the London Wasps Academy, he made his first team club debut at the age of 19, having represented England U16s, U18s and U19s.
He captained England U21s in the 2005 Six Nations Championship but was not selected for the elite England squad for the 2005 autumn internationals due to a knee injury sustained during the Zurich Premiership semi finals the previous season.
He finally made his England debut against Scotland in February 2007, coming on as a substitute for Joe Worsley, and went on to start his first game in the 26-18 victory against France in March, when he was named man-of-the-match. He retained his place against Wales but did not tour South Africa because of London Wasps’ Heineken Cup commitments and did not figure against Wales or France in the Investec Challenge matches because of knee and hamstring injuries respectively.
He started against France in Marseille in the final 2007 RWC warm-up match and scored a try in an impressive individual display in England's opening tournament match against USA.
Did you know?
Tom is the son of a Welsh-born psychiatrist John and is the eldest of three rugby-playing brothers. David, the youngest, played for England Under 16s in 2007.
After Tom won his first cap against Scotland he received a text message from an old school friend saying that they had seen his brothers in the crowd and asking if he was there as well?
Born in London, Tom moved to Basingstoke when he was six. ‛We all used to play football. I don't think there was any rugby, but then one day a PE teacher by the name of Andy Bloodworth got hold of me, said I was a bit of a lump and that I was going to play rugby. I'd never tried it but it was good fun. That was it.“
In fact, after playing the game for just four months, he found himself at Twickenham for the Harriet Costello U12 team in the Daily Telegraph Emerging Schools Festival.
Outside of rugby he enjoys other sports especially golf, as well as watching films, playing computer games and socialising with friends.
