Thompson
Steve Thompson is a Rugby World Cup-winning hooker who was capped 73 times by England.
Steve Thompson Bio
Steve Thompson is one of the finest hookers to ever play the game. A former England international and British and Irish Lion, he was England’s most capped hooker at the time of his retirement in 2011.
Born 15 July 1978, Steve Thompson began playing rugby during his school days and played for much of his junior career alongside fellow future England international Ben Cohen. By the age of 18, he’d joined the Northampton Saints apprentice scheme and he made his debut for the first XV only a couple of years later. He then went on to represent the club until 2007, winning the Heineken Champions Cup in the process.
However, in April 2007, Steve Thompson was forced to announce his immediate retirement from the game due to a neck injury. As a result, he signed for CA Brive as a recruitment and technique advisor. Later in the same year though, after consulting with medical staff, he began playing for Brive in the Top 14. In total, he represented the side for three seasons before he returned to the Premiership with Leeds Carnegie.
Sadly, Leeds were relegated during the 2010-11 season and Steve Thompson signed for London Wasps. But, in October 2011, he suffered from a recurrence of his neck injury and he was forced to retire in December 2011.
Although he was rightfully regarded as a formidable hooker at the domestic level, Steve Thompson was best known for his 73 caps for England between 2002 and 2011. On the international stage, he was a juggernaut who powered England to a Six Nations Championship Grand Slam and wins over Australia and New Zealand. He was also a member of the England side that won the 2003 Rugby World Cup and was a member of the British and Irish Lions side that toured New Zealand in 2005.
Since retiring in 2011, Steve Thompson has lived and worked in Dubai. He’s worked as a charity ambassador and as a rugby pundit. In 2020, it was also announced that Steve Thompson is suffering from early onset dementia due to the injuries he sustained playing rugby. As a result of the condition, he has no memory of his 2003 Rugby World Cup victory.
