Tom Cruse (born 30 March 1989) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who plays

hooker Hooker may refer to: People * Hooker (surname) Places Antarctica * Mount Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (South Shetland Islands) New Zealand * Hooker River * Mount Hooker (New Zealand) in the Southern Alps * Hoo ...

for

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

. Cruse began his senior playing career at

Stockport RUFC Stockport Rugby Union Football Club is a rugby union club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. They play in Regional 1 North West, following their promotion from North 1 West in 2021–22. History Stockport RUFC was founded in 1923 as D ...

where his talent was apparent, earning him a place at the

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

academy. After a season with Sale, he signed his first professional contract with

Rotherham Titans Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans is a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following their relegation from the Nat ...

in the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

from the 2013-14 season. Cruse was the stand-out hooker in the RFU Championship in the 2015 season while playing for Rotherham Titans, before signing with

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

for the 2015/16 season. In early March 2016, Cruse announced his move to

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. T ...

for that season. Since then, Cruse has earned a reputation as one of the most mobile front row forwards in the Premiership. He signed a contract extension ahead of the 2021–22 season. Wasps entered administration on 17 October 2022 and Cruse was made redundant along with all other players and coaching staff. On 22 November 2022 Edinburgh Rugby confirmed the signing of Cruse on a short-term deal.

References

External links

Wasps profileUltimate Rugby Profile
1989 births Living people English rugby union players Sale Sharks players London Irish players Rotherham Titans players Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from Stockport Wasps RFC players Edinburgh Rugby players {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub