This week brought the announcement that Mike Tindall has hung up his boots and retired from professional rugby after a glittering 17 years of service to the sport. He was the last active player from the 2003 World Cup winning England team to retire and has overcome injury, criticism and scandal to become one of the country’s best known ambassadors of the game. So in recognition, here’s a round up of Tindall’s remarkable career.
As an eager 18-year-old, he left school in Wakefield and immediately joined Bath Rugby in 1997. Alongside the likes of established centres Phil de Glanville and Jeremy Guscott, Tindall grew into a reliable player, earning game time and making his youthful self known throughout the premiership. The 1999 World Cup, where de Glanville and Guscott were on national duty, gave Tindall an opportunity to prove his worth and quite rightly cement a regular place in the team.
The following year, he made his England debut against Ireland in the Six Nations at Twickenham. He scored one of six tries in the 50-18 win, a scintillating try in the corner to add insult to Ireland’s injury. After this he formed a partnership with Will Greenwood, a combination that would give England a steady footing for the Six Nations and when it came to the next World Cup.
In 2003, after England’s Grand Slam victory earlier in the year, the rugby world’s attention turned to Australia for the World Cup. England flew through the pool stages, Tindall scoring in the opening game against Georgia. Making it through to the semi-finals against France, Tindall was left out of the squad and replaced by Mike Catt, who’s kicking ability in the rain was required in the bad weather. This explosive match resulted, of course, with England heading into the final against the home team, Australia. Tindall was reinstated into the team for the final, and proved to be a formidable and key player in this game. Which, as we know, proved to be an extremely tense match and the most emphatic of wins.
With World Cup glory and at the top of his game, Tindall continued his career at Bath. However in 2005 after sustaining a foot injury, he missed out on a place on the British and Irish Lions Tour and a slow recovery harmed his upcoming chances of a contract renewal. Due to his recovery expectations and feud with Bath owner Andrew Brownsword, Tindall moved to Gloucester after eight years at the West Country club.
His start at Gloucester was hindered by more injury, but alongside Anthony Allen at 13, Tindall managed to regain form and consequently featured in the 2007 Six Nations, scoring a try in the victory over eventual tournament winners France. A few months later, a broken leg sustained in a tackle on Toby Flood in a premiership match meant Tindall was out for the rest of the season, as well as the World Cup later that year.
He bounced back for the next season and signed a new contract to play for the Cherry and Whites until 2011. Recently selected as England vice-captain, his Six Nations spell was cut short by a nasty injury to the chest, causing a punctured lung, perforated liver and internal bleeding. After a 5-day stint in intensive care, Tindall was quoted as saying “I’ve grown used to serious injuries over the years, although I’ve never experienced anything like this before. Like I said, I’m just glad to be here to talk about it.”
2009 was not the greatest year for Tindall; a driving conviction and knee injury which left him out of the Lions touring squad, meant he had seen better days. Amidst all of this, the Gloucester captain remained in good spirits and the following year got engaged to long term girlfriend, Zara Phillips.
In the February of 2011, his debut as captain for England came in the Six Nations match against Wales. This led onto the honour of him captaining the side at the World Cup in New Zealand later that year. England were knocked out of the competition after a quarter-final defeat to France. He was criticised for partying in Queenstown with other players after the first match and misleading England’s management team on what occurred that night, for which he was originally fined £25,000 and removed from the elite squad. Tindall’s appeal was partially granted; he was allowed to rejoin the elite squad and the fine was reduced to £15,000.
Gloucester announced in 2012 that Tindall was one of 11 players not to play for the club the following season. However in a quick turn of events, it was revealed two months later that he had signed a one-year deal to be the backs coach alongside his playing commitments. In the May, he had been selected to play for the Barbarians in their matches against England, Ireland and Wales.
Consistent top-class performances meant that the following year he returned to the Barbarians team, a worthy captain of the side against England and then as a replacement against the touring British and Irish Lions. His 2013 improved when Gloucester extended his contract as coach and player until the end of the 2013/2014 season.
On the 15th July 2014, Tindall announced his retirement from professional rugby, meaning he leaves the game as the last active player from the victorious World Cup squad. A highly respected and talented representative of the rugby world, it’s wondered whether he will now take on a full time coaching role or go down the commentary/media route, following in the footsteps of other members of the 2003 team (Ben Kay, Lawrence Dallaglio). Whatever his next step is, there is no doubt that English rugby will miss his wholehearted performances, reliability and leadership. With any luck we’ll see Mike Tindall grace the game of rugby before too long, and what a well-received return it will be!
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