Harry Ellis
Encyclopedia
Harry Alistair Ellis is a retired English
rugby union
footballer who played scrum half for Leicester Tigers
, England
and the British & Irish Lions
.
On 8 July 2010, Ellis announced his retirement from the game as a result of a persistent knee injury.
as a 6-year-old with the South Leicester club. He studied at Bushloe High School and later Leicester Grammar School
, where he represented Leicester Schools and the Midlands at every age level.
He spent a year with the Wigston club before he finally joined the Leicester Tigers
Academy where he combined playing with further education at De Montfort University
. He worked his way through the Tigers lower teams and continued his representative career, playing for both the England U19 and U21 sides. He has also featured in the England Sevens
squad along with his team mate Louis Deacon
.
In August 2001, he made his first team Tigers
debut in the Orange Cup game in Toulouse
. Ellis went on to score a superb individual try that helped defeat Llanelli
in the Heineken Cup
semi-final at Nottingham. He was named Tigers’ Players Young Player of the Year for the 2001–2 season. In Leicester's 2002 Heineken Cup
quarter final, Ellis scored the only try of the game, breaking away from a ruck and sliding over on the wet ground.
He finally established himself as a regular in the No. 9 spot during the 2003–04 season, making 19 appearances and helping Tigers come back from a poor start and a turbulent midseason to reach the Zurich Wild Card final.
Ellis suffered knee ligament damage against Bristol on the 5th May 2007 in the Guinness Premiership semi-final play-off. He played an influential role in the Tigers' domestic double success, but the injury meant him missing out on the Premiership and Heineken Cup finals.
The Heineken Cup
semi-final against Cardiff Blues
resulted in a historic sudden death kicking competition. Fortunately, the shoot-out ended before Ellis's turn came up – though it was a close run thing, as either he or Tom Croft
were to follow Jordan Crane
. Although the Tigers fell at the final hurdle of the Heineken Cup, they won the 2008-09 Guinness Premiership
final, which Ellis did not feature in.
Ellis started the 2009/10 season as first-choice scrum-half for Leicester, but unfortunately suffered an injury in training, which left him out of the game for a significant part of the season. He returned to play in the Guinness A league, and helped the Tigers A team to victory.
His last game for the senior side came against Northampton Saints
in the LV= Cup.
Ellis was selected on England's 2004 summer tour as third choice scrum half behind Matt Dawson
and Andy Gomarsall
and did not play, however with he made his England
debut from the bench in their 32–16 win over the Springboks
in autumn 2004. He also made an appearance as a replacement in the game against Australia
.
Since then he has become a regular fixture in the England
side, rotating with Matt Dawson
during the 2005 Six Nations. Ellis scored his debut try for England in the 2005 Calcutta Cup win over Scotland. He lost out to Matt Dawson for the opening two Autumn tests in 2005 but took his chance superbly against Samoa, scoring an outstanding solo try in what was comfortably his best test match performance. This helped secured him the no 9 shirt for four games of the 2006 6 Nations
.
He was left out of the Summer development tour to Australia, but was chosen again for the Elite Player England Squad for the 2006/2007 season. Ellis was not included in the 2006 Autumn internationals that saw England head coach Andy Robinson
lose his job, but when Brian Ashton
was appointed as his successor Ellis was named in the team to start England's 2007 Six Nations opener against Scotland. In this game Ellis came of age and it was arguably one of his best performances in an England shirt. He consistently retained his place throughout the 2007 Six Nations, starting in every game and scoring a try in the loss to Wales.
Ellis was ruled out of the 2007 Rugby World Cup
due to the knee injury suffered in the Premiership.
He had a very successful 2009 Six Nations
tournament, starting for England as a result of the ankle injury to Danny Care, and went on to score two tries in a man-of-the-match performance against , where his opposite number was, unusually, Mauro Bergamasco
. He started all subsequent Six Nations matches, where he played scrum-half to former team-mate Andy Goode
, and then current team-mate Toby Flood
's fly-half. His last game for England came in the Calcutta Cup win over .
His good form in the Six Nations contributed to him being picked for the 2009 British and Irish Lions
tour, where he played as a substitute in the final Test win against the Springboks – in Ellis Park, fittingly enough.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
footballer who played scrum half for Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
, England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
and the British & Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
.
On 8 July 2010, Ellis announced his retirement from the game as a result of a persistent knee injury.
Club career
Ellis first played rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
as a 6-year-old with the South Leicester club. He studied at Bushloe High School and later Leicester Grammar School
Leicester Grammar School
Leicester Grammar School , is an independent secondary school situated in Great Glen, Leicestershire, England. It was founded in 1981, after the loss of the city's state-funded grammar schools....
, where he represented Leicester Schools and the Midlands at every age level.
He spent a year with the Wigston club before he finally joined the Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
Academy where he combined playing with further education at De Montfort University
De Montfort University
De Montfort University is a public research and teaching university situated in the medieval Old Town of Leicester, England, adjacent to the River Soar and the Leicester Castle Gardens...
. He worked his way through the Tigers lower teams and continued his representative career, playing for both the England U19 and U21 sides. He has also featured in the England Sevens
England national rugby union team (sevens)
The English national rugby union sevens team compete in the World Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-Honours:* 1973 International Seven-A-Side Tournament - Winners* Rugby World Cup Sevens Winners 1993* Hong Kong Sevens Winners 2002* Hong Kong Sevens Winners 2003*...
squad along with his team mate Louis Deacon
Louis Deacon
Louis Deacon is an English rugby union footballer. He is a lock.His playing career started as an eight year old, playing with Wigston, before joining Syston. He later joined Syston and as a Ratcliffe College student represented the Midlands county and both the England 16 Group and U18 Group School...
.
In August 2001, he made his first team Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
debut in the Orange Cup game in Toulouse
Stade Toulousain
Stade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a French rugby union club from Toulouse in Midi-Pyrénées. Toulouse is one of the finest rugby clubs in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup four times – in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008 against London Wasps...
. Ellis went on to score a superb individual try that helped defeat Llanelli
Llanelli RFC
Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...
in the Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
semi-final at Nottingham. He was named Tigers’ Players Young Player of the Year for the 2001–2 season. In Leicester's 2002 Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
quarter final, Ellis scored the only try of the game, breaking away from a ruck and sliding over on the wet ground.
He finally established himself as a regular in the No. 9 spot during the 2003–04 season, making 19 appearances and helping Tigers come back from a poor start and a turbulent midseason to reach the Zurich Wild Card final.
Ellis suffered knee ligament damage against Bristol on the 5th May 2007 in the Guinness Premiership semi-final play-off. He played an influential role in the Tigers' domestic double success, but the injury meant him missing out on the Premiership and Heineken Cup finals.
The Heineken Cup
2008-09 Heineken Cup
The 2008–09 Heineken Cup was the fourteenth edition of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. It started in October 2008 and ended on 23 May 2009 at Murrayfield in Edinburgh...
semi-final against Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, the team have played at Cardiff City Stadium since the start of the 2009/2010 season and are owned by Cardiff Rugby Football Club....
resulted in a historic sudden death kicking competition. Fortunately, the shoot-out ended before Ellis's turn came up – though it was a close run thing, as either he or Tom Croft
Tom Croft
Tom Croft, born 7 November 1985 in Basingstoke, England, is a rugby union player for Leicester Tigers in the Aviva Premiership.-Background:Croft's best position is blindside flanker, but he can fill in at openside flanker , and lock...
were to follow Jordan Crane
Jordan Crane (rugby player)
Jordan Crane is a professional Rugby Union player, who currently plays for Leicester Tigers having moved from Leeds Tykes at the end of the 2005–06 season. Crane has also played internationally for England....
. Although the Tigers fell at the final hurdle of the Heineken Cup, they won the 2008-09 Guinness Premiership
2008-09 Guinness Premiership
-Table:-Round 1:-Round 2:-Round 3:-Round 4:-Round 5:-Round 6:-Round 7:-Round 8:-Round 9:-Round 10:-Round 11:-Round 12:-Rearranged fixtures:-Round 13:-Round 14:...
final, which Ellis did not feature in.
Ellis started the 2009/10 season as first-choice scrum-half for Leicester, but unfortunately suffered an injury in training, which left him out of the game for a significant part of the season. He returned to play in the Guinness A league, and helped the Tigers A team to victory.
His last game for the senior side came against Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591....
in the LV= Cup.
International career
Ellis played for the England A, Under 16 Group and U18 Group schools sides. In fact, he played for the England U18 side when he was only 16.Ellis was selected on England's 2004 summer tour as third choice scrum half behind Matt Dawson
Matt Dawson
Matthew James Sutherland "Daws" Dawson, MBE is a retired English rugby union player who played scrum half for Wasps and Northampton Saints. During his international career he toured with the British and Irish Lions three times and was part of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup winning side...
and Andy Gomarsall
Andy Gomarsall
Andrew Charles Thomas Gomarsall MBE is a rugby union player who plays at scrum-half for Leeds Carnegie and England.He previously played for Gloucester Rugby, Bedford and Wasps...
and did not play, however with he made his England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
debut from the bench in their 32–16 win over the Springboks
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
in autumn 2004. He also made an appearance as a replacement in the game against Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
.
Since then he has become a regular fixture in the England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
side, rotating with Matt Dawson
Matt Dawson
Matthew James Sutherland "Daws" Dawson, MBE is a retired English rugby union player who played scrum half for Wasps and Northampton Saints. During his international career he toured with the British and Irish Lions three times and was part of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup winning side...
during the 2005 Six Nations. Ellis scored his debut try for England in the 2005 Calcutta Cup win over Scotland. He lost out to Matt Dawson for the opening two Autumn tests in 2005 but took his chance superbly against Samoa, scoring an outstanding solo try in what was comfortably his best test match performance. This helped secured him the no 9 shirt for four games of the 2006 6 Nations
2006 Six Nations Championship
The 2006 RBS 6 Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy...
.
He was left out of the Summer development tour to Australia, but was chosen again for the Elite Player England Squad for the 2006/2007 season. Ellis was not included in the 2006 Autumn internationals that saw England head coach Andy Robinson
Andy Robinson
Richard Andrew 'Andy' Robinson OBE is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He is currently the head coach of Scotland.Robinson played as an openside flanker for Bath, England and the British and Irish Lions...
lose his job, but when Brian Ashton
Brian Ashton (rugby player)
William Brian Ashton MBE is a former rugby union player and the former Head Coach of the England and Ireland national rugby union teams.-Biography:...
was appointed as his successor Ellis was named in the team to start England's 2007 Six Nations opener against Scotland. In this game Ellis came of age and it was arguably one of his best performances in an England shirt. He consistently retained his place throughout the 2007 Six Nations, starting in every game and scoring a try in the loss to Wales.
Ellis was ruled out of the 2007 Rugby World Cup
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 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
due to the knee injury suffered in the Premiership.
He had a very successful 2009 Six Nations
2009 Six Nations Championship
The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2009 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the tenth Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams...
tournament, starting for England as a result of the ankle injury to Danny Care, and went on to score two tries in a man-of-the-match performance against , where his opposite number was, unusually, Mauro Bergamasco
Mauro Bergamasco
Mauro Bergamasco is an Italian rugby union footballer. He predominantly plays as an open-side flanker, although his versatility means has also played a number of international games on the wing, and started at scrum-half in an infamously error-prone performance...
. He started all subsequent Six Nations matches, where he played scrum-half to former team-mate Andy Goode
Andy Goode
Andrew James Goode is a rugby union footballer who plays fly-half for Worcester and England.-Career:...
, and then current team-mate Toby Flood
Toby Flood
Tobias Gerald Albert Lieven "Toby" Flood is an English rugby union player. He currently plays at fly half or inside centre for Leicester Tigers, having signed from Newcastle Falcons, and England.-Background:...
's fly-half. His last game for England came in the Calcutta Cup win over .
His good form in the Six Nations contributed to him being picked for the 2009 British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
tour, where he played as a substitute in the final Test win against the Springboks – in Ellis Park, fittingly enough.