Tony Underwood

Tony Underwood (born 17 February 1969 in Ipoh, Malaysia) is a former English rugby union footballer who played as a wing three-quarter back.[1] He is of Chinese-English parentage.

Tony Underwood
Birth nameTony Underwood
Date of birth (1969-02-17) 17 February 1969
Place of birthIpoh, Malaysia
SchoolBarnard Castle School
UniversityLeicester University
Notable relative(s)Rory Underwood
Spousemarried
Childrentwo daughters
Occupation(s)Commercial Airline pilot
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
19??-1995
1995-1999
Leicester Tigers
Newcastle Falcons
()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1992-1998 England 27 (65)


Rugby career

His rugby talent was first nurtured at Barnard Castle School. Following his elder brother Rory, he played for Leicester Tigers 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,[2] 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 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 to score what would be one of his four tries in that game.[1] In 1995, he left Leicester for Newcastle Falcons. At Newcastle he made 11 appearances as they won the 1997-98 Premiership.[3] 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 star in a famous Pizza Hut advert alongside Lomu.[1]

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.[4] He is married, with two daughters.[2]

References

  1. "Tony Underwood". espnscrum.com. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  2. Mark Barden (5 March 2007). "Underwood still an England flyer". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  3. "Allied Dunbar Premiership, 1997/98 / Newcastle Falcons / Player records". espnscrum.com. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  4. Dann, John (7 September 2014). "Day jobs and life after rugby, Part 1: England". Rugby Data. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
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