Martin Corry (rugby union)
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Martin Edward Corry
MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...
(born 12 October 1973) is a retired English
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 represented and captained and
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 ...
in a career spanning 14 seasons. Corry played 64 times for between 1997 and 2007, played 7 tests for the
British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
on tours in
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
&
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, and played 290 times for Leicester between 1997 and 2009. Earlier in his career he played top division rugby for
Newcastle Gosforth Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...
and
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. A versatile player his principal positions were number eight and blindside flanker, he also played
lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...
more as his career progressed. Corry started the
2007 Rugby World Cup Final The 2007 Rugby World Cup Final was a rugby union match, played on Saturday, 20 October 2007 at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis, Paris, to determine the winner of the 2007 Rugby World Cup. South Africa beat England 15–6. Having also won the 19 ...
, and was an unused substitute as England won the
2003 Rugby World Cup Final The 2003 Rugby World Cup Final was the final match of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the fifth edition of the Rugby World Cup competition organised by the International Rugby Board (IRB) for national rugby union teams. The match was played at Stadium A ...
. He was a
Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
champion six times (
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 Ä°zmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
,
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
,
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
,
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
,
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
&
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
) and European Champion twice in
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
and
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
.


Early life

Born in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, Corry was educated at Tunbridge Wells Grammar School, and first played rugby union for Tunbridge Wells minis.


Career


University, Newcastle and England under 21s

Corry attended the
University of Northumbria , mottoeng = A lifetime of learning , established = 1877 - Rutherford College of Technology1969 - Newcastle Polytechnic1992 - gained university status , type = Public , budget = Â ...
, impressing for their rugby team, before being named as a reserve for a Courage League game for
Newcastle Gosforth Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...
against
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
. By April 1994 Corry had been called up for England under 21s and was described in the press as a "flanker of rare talent", in October 1994 Corry was named as England under 21's captain. Corry captained the under 21s to a victory over New Zealand Youth, and also captained Northumbria University to a British Universities championship. Following Newcastle's failure to gain promotion in the 1994–95 Courage League National Division Two season Corry was one of a number of leading players who moved on, in his case joining
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
.


England debut, Leicester title win and 1999 Rugby World Cup

In 1995 Corry joined
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. In February 1997 he was named as part of a 62 man long-list for the
1997 British Lions tour to South Africa The 1997 British Lions tour to South Africa was a series of matches played by the British Lions rugby union team in South Africa. This tour followed the Lions' 1993 tour to New Zealand and preceded their 2001 tour to Australia. The much-ant ...
, one of three uncapped players at that stage, but was not in the final squad, instead he made his
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
debut in May 1997 against
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. Corry moved to
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 ...
in the summer of 1997, despite having one year remaining on his Bristol contract, which prompted legal threats from Bristol. Corry made his Leicester debut on 30 August 1997 against
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
at Welford Road, and despite being sent off in a 15 all draw against
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", ...
played 27 times across number 8, flanker and lock in his first season. The following season saw Corry establish himself as Tigers first choice number 8, starting 29 times in the season; Corry made amends for his red card the previous season as he scored a crucial try in a 1st v 2nd match against Northampton, the 22–15 win effectively sealed the first of Leicester's four successive
Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
titles. After selection for the
1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was principally hosted by Wales, and was won by Australia. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's professi ...
, Corry returned to Leicester on 30 October 1999 scoring a try against
Bedford Blues Bedford Blues are a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The Blues are a semi-pro ...
in a 61–12 win. Corry was then an ever present as Tigers lost only 1 game in 16 to retain the
Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
title, he also captained the side for the first time in a European game against
Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...
.


European titles and first Lions tour

2000–01 season saw Corry again be a regular member of Leicester pack, switching between flanker and number 8 with Will Johnson, he played 30 times as Tigers retained the
Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
title for a third straight year. This season Tigers also progressed in Europe; Corry started as Leicester beat Swansea in the quarter finals and Gloucester in semis, Corry started the
2001 Heineken Cup Final The 2001 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2000–01 Heineken Cup, the sixth season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 19 May 2001 at the Parc des Princes in Paris. The match was contested by Stade Fr ...
at blindside flanker as Leicester beat
Stade Français Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...
34–30. In 2001 Corry was called up to the
British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
side after the tour had started, due to injuries within the squad, and immediately impressed
Graham Henry Sir Graham William Henry (born 8 June 1946) is a New Zealand rugby union coach, and former head coach of the country's national team, the All Blacks. Nicknamed 'Ted', he led New Zealand to win the 2011 World Cup. Henry played rugby union for ...
, the Lions coach. He started the first test in the absence of the injured
Neil Back Neil Antony Back MBE (born 16 January 1969) is a former international rugby union footballer for England and the British & Irish Lions who also played for Nottingham RFC, Leicester Tigers, and captained both England and Leicester during his ca ...
, and replaced the injured Richard Hill in the second before starting the third test in the absence of Hill. He played in the delayed Six Nations decider in Dublin in October 2001 for England. Corry missed much of the first half of the 2001–02 season with injury and international call ups but returned in December to be an ever-present until Leicester secured their fourth straight
Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
title on 13 April 2002 against
Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...
at Welford Road. Corry started the
2002 Heineken Cup Final The 2002 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2001–02 Heineken Cup, the seventh season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 25 May 2002 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff; this was the third time the ...
where Leicester beat
Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
, they were the first side to retain the European trophy.


2003 Rugby World Cup, England captaincy and second Lions tour

Corry confirmed his selection for
Clive Woodward Sir Clive Ronald Woodward (born 6 January 1956) is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He also coached the 2005 British & Irish Lions ...
's Rugby World Cup squad in a highly competitive back row area with a strong late run in England's warm-up matches: he performed well in the 43–9 defeat of Wales at the Millennium Stadium in late Summer of 2003 and then again in the September defeat of France at Twickenham. He was part of England's 2003 World Cup-winning squad, chosen ahead of teammate
Graham Rowntree Graham Christopher Rowntree (born 18 April 1971) is an English rugby union former player and current head coach of Irish club Munster. He played loosehead prop for Leicester Tigers and England. He was capped 54 times for England, despite havi ...
. During the 2003 Rugby World Cup, Corry flew home from Australia for the birth of his first child, daughter Eve. He rejoined the squad days later, and played in England's victory over
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
. He was an unused replacement in the
2003 Rugby World Cup Final The 2003 Rugby World Cup Final was the final match of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the fifth edition of the Rugby World Cup competition organised by the International Rugby Board (IRB) for national rugby union teams. The match was played at Stadium A ...
. In 2005, Corry was named as England Captain for the Six Nations match against
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, in the absence of Jason Robinson. Leicester reached the semi-finals of the
2004-05 Heineken Cup A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...
, but Corry missed the semi final defeat by
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
due to suspension following a red card against
Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...
. However, in May 2005 he was named as both the player of the 2004-05 Premiership Rugby season at the end of year awards, and the players' player of the season. Despite the individual accolades Leicester were to come up short losing the Premiership final 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 ...
. In the summer Corry was selected for his second Lions tour, this time to New Zealand, and was made vice-captain for the first test. He went on to captain the team from the 2nd minute onwards as
Brian O'Driscoll Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the ...
was injured in a notorious spear tackle incident. However, he was dropped for the final two tests in favour of
Ryan Jones Ryan Paul Jones (born 13 March 1981) is a Wales former international rugby union player who played at number eight, blindside flanker or second row. He was involved in three Grand Slam wins, in 2005, as captain in 2008, and 2012. He is one o ...
.


Leicester captain

Corry was named as Leicester's new club captain in August 2005, taking over after the retirement of Martin Johnson. Following his selection on the 2005 Lions tour Corry returned ahead of schedule to captain the club in the first match of the season, playing 48 minutes in a 32–0 win over Northampton. He was again selected as England's captain for the 2005 autumn internationals and 2006 Six Nations tournament. Corry played 24 times for Leicester that season as they reached a European quarter-final, and an Anglo-Welsh semi-final, before losing to 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 ...
in the 2006 Premiership final. Tigers gained some revenge for that loss in the opening game of the 2006-07 Premiership Rugby season, Corry particularly impressing and scoring in a 35–23 win against Sale. He continued as captain for the 2006 Autumn Internationals, in which England lost to New Zealand, Argentina and South Africa. Following these results, England Head coach
Andy Robinson Richard Andrew Robinson OBE (born 3 April 1964) is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He was the director of rugby at Bristol until November 2016. He is the former head coach of Scotland and England. From September 2019 to Decemb ...
left his post and was replaced by Brian Ashton. In his first squad selection as England coach, Ashton named Corry in the starting line-up for the 2007 Six Nations opener against Scotland, though he was replaced as captain by Phil Vickery. Corry remained in the side as the tournament progressed, but in the final two games of the tournament (against France and Wales) he was moved to lock. Corry captained Leicester in the 2007 Anglo-Welsh Cup Final, a 41–35 win that ended a 5-year trophy drought for the club. A week later Corry was selected as ''Man of the match'' when Leicester beat the
Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...
33–17 in the 2007 Heineken Cup semi-final. Corry won his fifth Premiership medal, starting the final and scoring a try as Leicester defeated
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
to secure the domestic double. They could not make it a treble though, losing the
2007 Heineken Cup Final The 2007 Heineken Cup Final was a rugby union match played at Twickenham Stadium in London, England, on 20 May 2007 to determine the winners of the 2006–07 Heineken Cup, European rugby's premier club competition. It was contested by English c ...
to Wasps, 25–9.


2007 Rugby World Cup and final seasons

In 2007, Corry formed part of the Ashton's
Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
squad in which England progressed to the Final in Paris but were ultimately unable to defend their world title, losing to South Africa. The following year, Corry reportedly turned down Ashton's offer of a place in the England's squad for the opening fixture of their 2008 Six Nations campaign, instead announcing his retirement from international rugby at the age of 34. This move was made in order that he could focus on his remaining club career with Leicester tigers. Following the
2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...
, Corry returned to Leicester as captain. His regular position switched to blindside flanker to accommodate Jordan Crane who had come into the side in Corry's absence. Corry started the 2008 Anglo-Welsh Cup Final, which ended in defeat to the Ospreys, and the 2008 Premiership final, where Wasps were once again winners in a Twickenham showpiece final. In April 2008, Corry signed a one-year contract extension with Leicester. Corry's final season saw him play mainly at lock,
Tom Croft Tom Croft (born 7 November 1985) is a retired rugby union player. He played 173 games for Leicester Tigers between 2005–17 winning four Premiership Rugby titles, played 40 times for between 2008–2015, was part of the squad for the ...
had developed and was now first choice blindside flanker. His final game for Leicester was on 24 January 2009, in a European Cup match against the Ospreys. He announced his retirement at the end of the 2008–2009 season. Following Leicester's victory in the 2009 Premiership Rugby Final Corry was on hand to lift the trophy, despite not playing, and the following week he captained the
Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...
against England at
Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
, to a 33–26 victory in his final match of his career.


Personal life

Corry flew back from Australia during the 2003 World Cup for the birth of his first child. He re-joined the squad just a few days later. His son Edward was born soon after the end of the 2006 Six Nations Championship and a daughter was born in 2009.


Sources

*


References


External links


England profile

Martin Corry photo 1 at sporting-heroes.net

Martin Corry photo 2 at sporting-heroes.net

Martin Corry photo 3 at sporting-heroes.net

Leicester Tigers profile

Lions profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corry, Martin 1973 births Living people Alumni of Northumbria University Barbarian F.C. players Bristol Bears players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England England international rugby union players English people of Welsh descent English rugby union players Leicester Tigers players Members of the Order of the British Empire Newcastle Falcons players People educated at Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys Rugby union players from Birmingham, West Midlands Rugby union number eights