Tom Ryder (rugby union)

Thomas P. Ryder (born 21 February 1985) is a former rugby union player who played at lock, latterly for Yorkshire Carnegie in the RFU Championship.

Tom Ryder

Birth name	Thomas P. Ryder
Date of birth	(1985-02-21) 21 February 1985 (age 38)
Place of birth	Nottingham, England
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight	111 kg (17 st 7 lb)
School	Southwell Minster School Uppingham School
University	University of Hertfordshire
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock Current team Yorkshire Carnegie Youth career 1992–2001 Newark R.U.F.C. Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2001–2005 2005–2011 2010 2011–2015 2015 2015–2016 Leicester Tigers Saracens → Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors Northampton Saints Yorkshire Carnegie 3 98 8 81 2 15 (0) (5) (0) (10) (0) (5) Correct as of 19 May 2013 Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 2008 Taranaki 6 (5) Correct as of 24 October 2012 International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2001–2002 2002–2003 2003–2004 2005–2006 2010 2012 England U16 England U18 England U19 England U21 Scotland A Scotland 1 2 (0) (0) Correct as of 24 October 2012

Early life

Ryder was born in Nottingham, England on 21 February 1985 and educated at Southwell Minster School and Uppingham School. He began playing rugby at the age of seven at Newark R.U.F.C. before joining Leicester Tigers Academy system at the age of 16, having captained England's under-16 side.^[1]

Club career

Ryder made three appearances in the Zurich Premiership for Leicester Tigers. During his time with the club, Ryder captained England at Under 19 level.^[2] Ryder left the Tigers to join Saracens in the summer of 2005.^[3]

Ryder broke into Sarries first team towards the end of the 2005–06 season and became a regular. During the opening months of the 2008–09 season, Ryder played for Taranaki in the 2008 Air New Zealand Cup.^[4]

During the opening months of the 2010–11 season Ryder went on loan to injury hit Glasgow Warriors returning to Sarries at the start of November 2010.^[5] Ryder signed a two-year contract with Glasgow for the 2011–12 season.

Ryder's best season with Glasgow was in 2011/12, when he was voted into the Pro12 Dream Team. Ryder left Glasgow in January 2015 to play for Northampton until the end of the 2014/15 season.

On 1 May 2015, Ryder signed for Yorkshire Carnegie who were competing in the RFU Championship in the 2015–16 season.^[6]

Ryder retired from professional rugby in May 2016, noting that injuries in latter years had made it impossible to recapture his peak form.

International career

Ryder has captained England at under-16 and under-19 levels, as well as playing at under-18. He represented England at the 2006 Under-21 World Championship.^[7] Ryder switched his allegiance and made his debut for Scotland A against the USA in November 2010,^[8] qualifying through his Glasgow born father,^[9] He made his debut for Scotland during their 2012 summer-test series against both Fiji and Samoa.^[10][11]

References

1. "Leicester Tigers Profile". Leicester Tigers official site. 22 April 2005. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
2. "Ryder and Gregory to take on Italians". Leicester Tigers official site. 13 February 2004. Retrieved 9 July 2009.^{[permanent dead link]}
3. . Rugby Football Union. 22 April 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
4. . Taranaki Rugby. 9 August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
5. "Tom Ryder agrees loan switch to Glasgow Warriors". BBC Sport. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
6. "Yorkshire Carnegie sign former Scotland lock Tom Ryder". Northampton Chronicle. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
7. "England U21 31–12 Scotland U21". BBC Sport. 17 June 2006. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
8. "Scotland A 25–0 USA Eagles". BBC Sport. 20 November 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
9. "Saracens lock Tom Ryder could have extended loan stay at Glasgow". The Scotsman. 27 August 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
10. "Fiji 25-37 Scotland". ESPNscrum. 16 June 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
11. "Samoa 16-17 Scotland". ESPNscrum. 23 June 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2015.

External links

• Leicester Tigers profile