Steve Thompson MBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(formerly Steve Walters; born 15 July 1978 in
Hemel HempsteadHemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....
) is a
rugby unionRugby 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...
player who plays at hooker for
London WaspsLondon Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999...
and
EnglandThe 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...
.
He is
England'sThe 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...
most capped hooker, and has played for the
British and Irish LionsThe British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
.
Northampton Saints
Thompson, then known as Steve Walters, started playing rugby at 15 at the
Northampton School for BoysNorthampton School for Boys is a secondary school in Northampton, England.- Foundation and History :The school was originally founded in 1541 by mayor Thomas Chipsey, as the town's free boys grammar school. In 1557, the school moved to St. Gregory's church, which was adapted for its use...
and went on to play for
Northampton Old Scouts RFC alongside Ben Cohen in a very successful youth team. He also trained with the youth section of Saints and, at 18, was selected for the apprentice scheme at the club's academy as a back row forward. Former Saints coach
Ian McGeechanSir Ian Robert McGeechan OBE is a Scottish former rugby union player and coach. His nickname is "Geech".-Playing career:...
and coaches at
Northampton Old Scouts RFC persuaded him to convert to being a hooker. Despite competing against the Argentinian
Federico MéndezFederico Mendez , also known as Freddie Mendez is an Argentine rugby union footballer.Méndez played professional rugby in South Africa, England and France...
in the 1999–2000 season for his club place, he still managed to force his way into the
England AEngland Saxons is the current name of 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 A...
squad. Thompson continued to develop as a player and became co-captain of
Northampton SaintsNorthampton 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....
.
Retirement and return with CA Brive
On 15 April 2007 Thompson announced his immediate retirement from rugby due to a career ending neck injury that he had suffered during the closing Heineken Cup pool match with
Biarritz OlympiqueBiarritz Olympique Pays Basque is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Aquitaine which competes in the Top 14 and the Heineken Cup...
at Franklin's Gardens in January 2007.
For the 2007/2008 season he signed for
CA Brive Correze LimousinClub Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin is a French rugby union team founded in 1910 and based in Brive-la-Gaillarde in the département of Corrèze of the Limousin région . They wear black and white and play in the Stade Amédée-Domenech .- History :The club was created on 15 March 1910 established on...
as a "recruitment and technique adviser". But on 22 October 2007, Thompson announced he would be returning to the game after consulting medical staff. He first played (and won) with CA Brive on November 9, 2007 in the
European Challenge CupThe European Challenge Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Amlin Challenge Cup, is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup. The cup was known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003 to 2005. The European...
against
Connacht RugbyConnacht Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Connacht that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 comprising teams from the Celtic nations plus Italy. Normally, it also competes in the second-tier pan-European club competition, the European Challenge Cup...
. Thompson represented
CA Brive CLClub Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin is a French rugby union team founded in 1910 and based in Brive-la-Gaillarde in the département of Corrèze of the Limousin région . They wear black and white and play in the Stade Amédée-Domenech .- History :The club was created on 15 March 1910 established on...
in three French Championship Top 14 campaigns.
Back in the Premiership
On 31 May 2010 Thompson finally agreed a 2 year deal with Leeds Carnegie after a lot of speculation. This saw him join up with former International team mate
Neil BackNeil Antony Back is a former international rugby union footballer for England, who also played for Leicester Tigers, and captained both England and Leicester during his career....
who was head coach at Leeds.
Leeds were relegated from the 2010–11 Aviva Premiership. On 1 May 2011 it was announced that he had signed a 3 year deal with London Wasps.
International career
Thompson made his debut for
EnglandThe 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...
in the
2002 Six NationsThe 2002 Six Nations Championship was the third series of the Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the hundred-and-eighth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship...
against his former mentor’s side
ScotlandThe Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
and the men in white came out on top. He was selected for England’s
summer tour to North America in 2001-Matches:-Forwards:...
, where he did well. He scored his maiden test try against
ItalyThe Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
in the
2003 Six NationsThe 2003 Six Nations Championship was the fourth series of the Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the hundred-and-ninth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship...
, a tournament which saw England win the
Grand SlamIn rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
. Thompson made a significant contribution to England's
southern hemisphere tour in June 2003-Matches:...
, playing in both victorious tests against New Zealand and
AustraliaThe 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...
.
He was a member of the
EnglandThe 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...
team that won the
2003 Rugby World CupThe 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
. He played a part in all but one of England’s World Cup performances in Australia and scored his second test try in England’s opening World Cup match against
GeorgiaThe Georgia national rugby union team represents Georgia in rugby union. The team's nickname, The Lelos, comes from lelo burti, a traditional Georgian sport with strong similarities to rugby. Lelo has been adopted as the Georgian word for "try"...
in Perth.
Thompson continued as an England regular in the Autumn games of 2004. He was selected for the
2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New ZealandIn 2005 the British and Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing 7 tour matches against first and second division clubs from the National Provincial Championship series, 1 tour match against the national New Zealand all Māori club, and 3 official test...
. On the tour he seemed to have regained some of his form after a poor 2005 Six Nations.
On May 19 2009 Martin Johnson gave Thompson a surprise call up for England's summer games against
The BarbariansThe Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
and
ArgentinaThe Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...
. Thompson was recalled to the England squad for the
2009 autumn internationalsThe 2009 end of year rugby tests, also known as the Autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, saw Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina, tour the northern hemisphere....
along with 2003 world cup winners
Jonny WilkinsonJonathan Peter "Jonny" Wilkinson OBE is an English rugby union player and member of the England national team. Wilkinson rose to acclaim from 2001 to 2003, before and during the 2003 Rugby World Cup and was acknowledged as one of the world’s best rugby players...
and
Lewis MoodyLewis Walton Moody MBE is an English rugby union rugby player who currently plays for Bath Rugby and was part of the 2003 World Cup winning side. He is renowned for his commitment to the physical aspects of the game....
.
In the
2011 RBS Six NationsThe 2011 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2011 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 12th series of the Six Nations Championship. The annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship was contested by England, France, Ireland, Italy,...
he scored the only try for
EnglandThe 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...
in their match against
IrelandThe Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
on 19 March 2011, a tournament which saw England win the Six Nations.
External links