Tony Underwood (born 17 February 1969 in

Ipoh , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Ipoh in Perak , pushpin_map = #Malaysia#Asia#Earth , pushpin_mapsize = 275px , pushpin_map_caption = Ipoh in Malaysia , coordinates ...

, Malaysia) is a former English rugby union footballer who played as a wing

three-quarter back Three-quarter back is the back-line positions of wing or centre in either rugby league or rugby union. See also *Rugby league positions *Rugby union positions *Half back (disambiguation) A halfback, half back, or half-back may refer to: * , in ru ...

. He is of

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regar ...

- English parentage.

Rugby career

His rugby talent was first nurtured at Barnard Castle School. Following his elder brother

Rory Rory is a given name of Goidelic languages, Gaelic origin. It is an anglicisation of the ga, Ruairí/''Ruaidhrí'' and gd, Ruairidh and is common to the Irish people, Irish, Scottish people, Highland Scots and their diasporas. for the given n ...

, he played for

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

and England. Tony had another brother called Gary, who played at under-21 level for England. He made his England debut in October 1992 against Canada, and went on to win a total of 27 English caps. Tony and Rory were the first brothers to play for England together since Harold and Arthur Wheatley in England's 1937 6–3 win over Scotland, and partnered in the 1995 Five Nations Grand Slam win. He played in the Rugby World Cup in 1995, and in the Quarter final match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

he scored a try that many regard as one of the finest in running Rugby, with his right-wing counterpart Damien Smith failing to tackle him, and that helped England to reach the Semi-finals. In the Semi-final he had another memorable moment in which his opposite number, Jonah Lomu, ran a ring around him, before powering straight over the tackle of full back

Mike Catt Michael John Catt OBE (born 17 September 1971) is a South African-born former rugby union player who played for the England national rugby union team. He played professionally for the clubs London Irish and Bath. He earned 75 international cap ...

to score what would be one of his four tries in that game. In 1995, he left

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

for Newcastle Falcons. At Newcastle he made 11 appearances as they won the 1997-98 Premiership. His last cap for England came in December 1998 against South Africa where he was replaced early; England went on to win. He would later feature in a Pizza Hut advertising campaign alongside Lomu.

Post rugby

He is now retired from international rugby and having trained as a pilot, went on to fly for Easyjet. He then became a long-haul pilot for Virgin Atlantic. He was seen on ITV's '' Airline'' training to be a pilot, graduating, and completing his first flight with EasyJet from London Luton Airport to Zurich. He used to live in Monkston, Milton Keynes. He now lives in Dubai, where he flies the Airbus A380 as a captain for

Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country * Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir ** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf ** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates * The Emirat ...

., he is married, with two children (best friends with barrister to be, Robyn Wild).

References

External links

Sporting HeroesBBC Superstars
{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Tony 1969 births Living people Alumni of Hughes Hall, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Leicester British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Commercial aviators England international rugby union players English people of Chinese descent English people of Malaysian descent Leicester Tigers players Newcastle Falcons players People educated at Barnard Castle School Rugby union wings