Rory Underwood

Rory Underwood, MBE, DL (born 19 June 1963)[1] is an English former rugby union player. He is England's record international try scorer, with 49 tries in 85 internationals between 1984 and 1996.[2] Underwood's principal position was wing and he played 236 games for Leicester Tigers between 1983 and 1997, he also played for Middlesbrough, Bedford Blues and the Royal Air Force. Underwood toured with the British and Irish Lions in 1989 and 1993 playing in six tests and scoring one try. In 1992 Underwood played for England alongside his younger brother Tony Underwood, becoming the first brothers to play together for England since 1937.[1]

Rory Underwood
Birth nameRory Underwood
Date of birth (1963-06-19) 19 June 1963
Place of birthMiddlesbrough, England
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight13 st 8 lb (86 kg)
SchoolBarnard Castle School
Notable relative(s)Tony Underwood (brother)
Occupation(s)RAF aviator, management consultant
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1983–1997 Leicester Tigers 236 (670)
1997–1998 Bedford Blues ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1984–1996 England 85 (210)
1989–1993 British and Irish Lions 6 (5)

Playing during the amateur era his profession was as a Royal Air Force pilot.

Early life

Underwood was born in Middlesbrough, England, of Chinese-English parentage. His father was a Yorkshire engineer who worked in Malaysia where he met and married Underwood's Chinese-Malaysian mother.

Underwood was educated at Barnard Castle School (with fellow rugby international Rob Andrew, followed by initial officer training at RAF College Cranwell.[3]

Underwood's early life was spent in Malaysia. His family moved to Yorkshire in 1976, but his father was posted to Singapore and did not rejoin the family for another three years.[4]

Royal Air Force

In the Royal Air Force (RAF), Underwood played for the Strike Command and main RAF rugby team. As flying officer he flew with No. 360 Squadron RAF, an electronic countermeasures training squadron, on Canberras at RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire. He then flew the Canberra TT18 with No. 100 Squadron RAF, also at Wyton.

Underwood took a ground-instruction job in 1995 at RAF Cranwell, becoming a flight lieutenant, while playing for Leicester. He became station flight safety officer, then joined No. 55 Squadron RAF (navigator training, now referred to as a weapon systems officer) on the twin-engined Dominie (British Aerospace 125), and continued in the RAF until 1999, although he could have stayed until 2001.

Rugby

Having first played as a youngster at Middlesbrough Rugby Club (with Rob Andrew and Bernie Coyne), Underwood went on to become one of the greatest wings in rugby union. Underwood is the leading try scorer for England in international matches. He first played for England in February 1984 against Ireland at Twickenham. He won 85 England and 6 Lions caps between 1984 and 1996 (then an English record, later surpassed by Jason Leonard – it remained the highest total for an English back, though that has since been overtaken by Jonny Wilkinson), scoring a record 49 tries for England, and 1 for the British Lions, making him one of the leading try scorers of all time.[5] He played for England in the Rugby World Cups of 1987, 1991 and 1995.

Underwood was capable of playing on either right or left wing depending on who was selected on the opposite side. More usually seen on the left wearing shirt number 11, in 1988 he switched to the right (and shirt number 14) to accommodate Chris Oti: in 1990 on the right opposite Mark Bailey, but on the left when partnering Simon Halliday, continuing on the left in 1991 opposite Nigel Heslop: in the 1991 World Cup he played on the right in partnership with Oti early on, then on the left in partnership with Heslop until the quarter-final and Halliday for the final two rounds, an arrangement that persisted throughout the 1992 Five Nations championship – which was initially billed as his final season before retirement, Underwood scoring tries in each of the first three matches of the championship, and coming close to scoring against Wales. However, Underwood changed his mind and opted to carry on, initially for the next match against South Africa (their first match since their readmission to international sport), and eventually for several more years – playing mostly now on the left, to accommodate his younger brother, Tony, on the right wing. They were the first brothers to represent England at the same time since 1937:[5] and, in the 1993 match against Scotland, the first pair of brothers to score tries in the same match for England. He has been described as one of the greatest wingers to ever play the game.

Recent career

Underwood has worked as a management consultant. When leaving the RAF he planned on setting up a company called Teamwork with his friend John Peters. He planned on acquiring a Commercial Pilot Licence.

Underwood set up UPH, a management and teamwork training company, with John Peters and Martyn Helliwell on 20 May 1999. Two years later, he appeared on Lily Savage's Blankety Blank.[6]

Like John Peters, Underwood is also a motivational speaker. He held a role as a non-executive director on the board of Leicester Tigers F.C, but left this role in November 2020.[7] His new company is called Wingman Ltd.

International tries

TryOpposing teamLocationVenueCompetitionDateResult
1 FranceParis, FranceParc des PrincesFive Nations Championship3 March 1984lost
2 IrelandDublin, IrelandLansdowne RoadFive Nations Championship30 March 1985lost
3 JapanSydney, AustraliaConcord OvalRugby World Cup30 May 1987won
4 JapanSydney, AustraliaConcord OvalRugby World Cup30 May 1987won
5 IrelandTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamFive Nations Championship19 March 1988won
6 IrelandTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamFive Nations Championship19 March 1988won
7 IrelandDublin, IrelandLansdowne RoadMillennium Trophy Match23 April 1988won
8 AustraliaBrisbane, AustraliaBallymore StadiumSummer Tour29 May 1988lost
9 AustraliaSydney, AustraliaConcord OvalSummer Tour12 June 1988lost
10 FijiSuva, FijiNational Stadium, SuvaSummer Tour16 June 1988won
11 FijiSuva, FijiNational Stadium, SuvaSummer Tour16 June 1988won
12 AustraliaTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamAutumn Internationals5 November 1988won
13 AustraliaTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamAutumn Internationals5 November 1988won
14 FijiTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamAutumn Internationals4 November 1989won
15 FijiTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamAutumn Internationals4 November 1989won
16 FijiTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamAutumn Internationals4 November 1989won
17 FijiTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamAutumn Internationals4 November 1989won
18 FijiTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamAutumn Internationals4 November 1989won
19 IrelandTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamFive Nations Championship20 January 1990won
20 FranceParis, FranceParc des PrincesFive Nations Championship3 February 1990won
21 WalesTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamFive Nations Championship17 February 1990won
22 WalesTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamFive Nations Championship17 February 1990won
23 ArgentinaTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamAutumn Internationals3 November 1990won
24 ArgentinaTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamAutumn Internationals3 November 1990won
25 ArgentinaTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamAutumn Internationals3 November 1990won
26 IrelandDublin, IrelandLansdowne RoadFive Nations Championship2 March 1991won
27 FranceTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamFive Nations Championship16 March 1991won
28 FijiSuva, FijiNational Stadium, SuvaSummer Tour20 July 1991won
29 ItalyTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamRugby World Cup8 October 1991won
30 United StatesTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamRugby World Cup11 October 1991won
31 United StatesTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamRugby World Cup11 October 1991won
32 FranceParis, FranceParc des PrincesRugby World Cup19 October 1991won
33 ScotlandEdinburgh, ScotlandMurrayfieldFive Nations Championship18 January 1992won
34 IrelandTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamFive Nations Championship1 February 1992won
35 FranceParis, FranceParc des PrincesFive Nations Championship15 February 1992won
36 ScotlandTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamFive Nations Championship6 March 1993won
37 New ZealandWellington, New ZealandAthletic ParkBritish Lions tour to New Zealand26 June 1993won
38 WalesTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamFive Nations Championship19 March 1994won
39 RomaniaTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamAutumn Internationals12 November 1994won
40 CanadaTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamAutumn Internationals10 December 1994won
41 CanadaTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamAutumn Internationals10 December 1994won
42 WalesCardiff, WalesCardiff Arms ParkFive Nations Championship18 February 1995won
43 WalesCardiff, WalesCardiff Arms ParkFive Nations Championship18 February 1995won
44 ItalyDurban, South AfricaKings Park StadiumRugby World Cup31 May 1995won
45 Western SamoaDurban, South AfricaKings Park StadiumRugby World Cup4 June 1995won
46 Western SamoaDurban, South AfricaKings Park StadiumRugby World Cup4 June 1995won
47 New ZealandCape Town, South AfricaNewlands StadiumRugby World Cup18 June 1995lost
48 New ZealandCape Town, South AfricaNewlands StadiumRugby World Cup18 June 1995lost
49 Western SamoaTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamAutumn Internationals16 December 1995won
50 WalesTwickenham, EnglandTwickenhamFive Nations Championship3 February 1996won

Personal life

Underwood's wife was an air traffic controller in the RAF. He has two daughters. He has two younger brothers, Gary and Tony, and also has a sister, Wendy. His brother Tony Underwood became a commercial pilot after retiring and also played rugby for England and has two daughters.

Underwood's long-lasting relationship with the RAF was put under strain when his wife was unfairly dismissed from the RAF for being pregnant, for which she received an undisclosed sum after settling out of court in 1995.[8][9]

Underwood lives in a small village near Grantham in Lincolnshire, having lived in the area for many years whilst at Cranwell. He has often been invited to be a local dignitary, or to play for local charity sports matches.[10] He is President of the Grantham National Malaya and Borneo Veterans Association.[11]

Publications

  • Flying Wing – An Autobiography by Rory Underwood, 1992, ISBN 0-09-175074-1

See also

References

  1. "ESPN profile". ESPN. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  2. "England try scorers". ESPN. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  3. "Air Cadets - Famous cadets". Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  4. Smith, Giles (28 February 1995). "Here's to you, Mrs Underwood". The Independent. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  5. "Rory Underwood". BBC Sport. 30 September 2003. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  6. "Lily Savage's Blankety Blank". 27 May 2001. ITV. {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help)
  7. Bridge, Bobby (12 November 2020). "Rory Underwood leaves Leicester Tigers with immediate effect". LeicestershireLive. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  8. Evans, Michael (22 March 1995). "Player tells of hardship after wife's dismissal". The Times. No. 65221. p. 5. ISSN 0140-0460.
  9. "Underwood deal". The Times. No. 65304. 27 June 1995. p. 10. ISSN 0140-0460.
  10. "Rory opens Grantham Barclays in April 2011". Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  11. "Grantham NMBVA". Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
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