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 nameThomas P. Ryder
Date of birth (1985-02-21) 21 February 1985 (age 39)
Place of birthNottingham, England
Height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight111 kg (17 st 7 lb)
SchoolSouthwell Minster School
Uppingham School
UniversityUniversity 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 Leicester Tigers 3 (0)
2005–2011 Saracens 98 (5)
2010Glasgow Warriors 8 (0)
2011–2015 Glasgow Warriors 81 (10)
2015 Northampton Saints 2 (0)
2015–2016 Yorkshire Carnegie 15 (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 England U16
2002–2003 England U18
2003–2004 England U19
2005–2006 England U21
2010 Scotland A 1 (0)
2012 Scotland 2 (0)
Correct as of 24 October 2012

Early life

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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

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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

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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

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  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. ^ "Saracens have signed second row forward Tom Ryder". Rugby Football Union. 22 April 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
  4. ^ "Importance of shield match not lost on Ryder". 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.
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