Long-time Bassett back Tom Sharpe has been selected to represent England Police Rugby for an upcoming tour of Canada.
26-year-old Tom has been with Royal Wootton Bassett RFC since the age of 6 and has played in every age group of the club. But outside of being a firm part of the Bassett Senior squad, Tom is a Community Police Officer for Wiltshire Police, and a member of the Wilts/Glos/Avon & Somerset combined police force rugby team. "We pulled our teams together to establish a more stable squad to compete in the Police Sport UK Cup where we compete against other police forces, and occasionally local sides for training matches," Tom explained.
Tom has also represented his country as part of the England Police set-up since January 2019, most proudly, going on tour with the team in September 2019 to Hong Kong. "Hong Kong was a very mixed experience for me personally, said Tom. "Playing rugby for the RWBRFC senior section is always a proud moment - but pulling on an England Police shirt to play at an international level was a whole new level of pride."
Injury and rehab
"Our first game in Hong Kong was against New Zealand Police, which we knew would be a tough game. Playing against New Zealand and facing the Haka was something I will always remember."
Sadly for Tom, the match would only last until the 15th minute, when he ruptured his ACL and Meniscus. "This was the end of my tour and quite a hard period for me personally. Since then, it has been a physical and mental battle to be able to return to rugby."
But after a long journey of rehab during the Covid pandemic, Tom eventually made his return at the start of this season for Bassett - and eventually, back with England Police in February when he came on at halftime to score against the Army Masters team.
Canada Tour
Tom has heard recently that he has been selected for the England Police tour to Vancouver, Canada this summer, from 22nd June through to 3rd July. He is one of two players that has been selected from Wilts Police, along with Chippenham RFC & England Police Captain, Francis Dicko.
“I found out I had been selected on a Saturday morning a few hours before playing for Bassett, which gave me a huge boost before the game!" Tom explained. "I took a call from our Director of Rugby, Phil Watters - someone who has been part of my England Police playing career the whole way through and someone I admire immensely for his player-management and coaching."
"Watters rang to de-brief me on my performance from our England Police fixture against the Army Masters team a few weeks ago. It was then he invited me to be part of the squad to face Wales Police in mid-April and further down the line, to be on the plane to Vancouver."
Sponsorship hopes
Tom is now fundraising to finance his journey to Canada. "I need to raise £1,000 through sponsorship and I am hoping that local businesses associated with the club might support me, and enable a local player to represent Royal Wootton Bassett Rugby Club on an international level."
Sponsors can contribute any amount they wish and will be publicised as Tom's 'Official Sponsors' during the tour.
If you are interested in supporting Tom, please contact him for further information at Tomsharpe10@live.com
