Years: 1998-2007
England caps: 73
British & Irish Lions tours: New Zealand 2005
Rugby World Cup-winning hooker Steve Thompson is inducted into Northampton Saints’ Hall of Fame having made 192 appearances for the Club between his debut in 1998 and 2007.
Saint #1743, Thompson came through Northampton School for Boys, Northampton Casuals RFC and Northampton Old Scouts RFC before being signed into the academy at Franklin’s Gardens as an 18-year-old.
Formerly a back-row forward, Thompson was converted to the front row and the rest was history as he went on to lock down the No.2 jersey in Northampton and represent both England and the British & Irish Lions.
At over 6ft tall, Thompson was larger than the average hooker and an 18-stone frame combined with superb handling skills made him a formidable presence in both the pack and the loose.
After making his England debut in 2002 against Scotland, Thompson cemented his place in Clive Woodward’s squad in the build-up to the 2003 Rugby World Cup – where he played in all but one of England’s matches in their historic run to glory.
Thompson was also selected for the British & Irish Lions’ tour to New Zealand in 2005, earning Test caps in the warm-up clash against Argentina and the clashes with the All Blacks in Christchurch and Wellington.
After initially retiring in 2007, Thompson went on to represent Brive, Leeds and Wasps before he hung up his boots for good.
In recent years, Thompson has been at the forefront of the campaign to improve player safety and concussion protocol in rugby, releasing a BBC Documentary, ‘Head On: Rugby, Dementia and Me’, in 2022.
