Greig Tonks

Greig Tonks (born 20 May 1989) is a Scottish former rugby union player who played for London Irish in the position of Fullback, Centre or Fly-half. He is currently a coach at Rams.

Greig Tonks

Tonks in 2017
Birth name	Greig Alexander Tonks
Date of birth	(1989-05-20) 20 May 1989
Place of birth	Pretoria, South Africa
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	86 kg (13 st 8 lb)[1]
School	Nottingham High School
University	University of Leicester
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback/Outside and Inside Centre/Fly half Current team Rams Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2008–2010 2010–2012 2012–2016 2016–2020 Leicester Tigers Northampton Saints Edinburgh London Irish 1 12 79 14 0 (25) (103) (77) Correct as of 8 April 2017 National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2008–2009 2013– 2013– England U20 Scotland A Scotland 9 1 8 0 (0) (3) Correct as of 24 June 2017

Born in Pretoria, South Africa, Tonks moved to England aged two.[2] He was educated at Akeley Wood School and Nottingham High School. He played for Newark Rugby club in Nottinghamshire before being signed for Leicester Tigers and has spent long periods on loan at Nottingham Rugby.

In May 2010 it was announced that Tonks had signed for the Northampton Saints.[3] Tonks made his debut for Northampton Saints starting their Heineken cup match against Edinburgh at fullback.

Tonks agreed a move to Edinburgh on 28 February 2012,[2] and made his competitive debut against Munster in the opening game of the 2012–13 Pro12 season.

In March 2015, Tonks signed a new contract with Edinburgh, which would have seen him remain at Murrayfield until 2017.[4] However, on 29 February 2016, it was announce that Tonks would leave Edinburgh and join London Irish with immediate effect.[5]

In April 2017, London Irish were crowned Champions of the RFU Championship, with Tonks playing a large role in their title-winning campaign. Tonks signed a new two-year contract with the Exiles as they won promotion back to the Aviva Premiership. He retired at the end of the 2018–19 season in order to pursue a coaching role with National League 1 side Rams.[6]

International career

Tonks is eligible to play for Scotland through his Ayrshire born mother.[2] He made his début for Scotland A in a 13–9 victory against the Saxons on 1 February 2013 in Newcastle.[7] The win was notable for being the A side's first ever recorded victory in England.

He made his full international debut for Scotland against Samoa in 2013, starting in the full-back position. He added to his cap collection with three appearances from the replacements' bench during the 2015 Six Nations Championship.[8]

Tonks represented England at under-16 level and took part in the England under-18's tour of Australia.[9] Tonks was a member of the England under-20 squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship.[10] Tonks also represented England at the 2009 IRB Junior World Championship.

References

1. "Aviva Premiership Rugby – Northampton Saints". web page. Premier Rugby. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
2. "NEW BOY TONKS COMMITS TO "SOMETHING SPECIAL". Retrieved 28 February 2012.
3. "Northampton sign Leicester full-back Greig Tonks". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
4. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/31950132
5. "Greig Tonks: London Irish sign Scotland fly-half from Edinburgh". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
6. admin (11 July 2019). "Former Harlequins coach John Kingston on hand to help Rams". The Rugby Paper. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
7. "England Saxons 9–13 Scotland A". web page. BBC. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
8. http://www.scottishrugby.org/scotland/player/greig-tonks
9. "Greig Tonks". Leicester Tigers. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
10. Sherrard, Gary (3 September 2007). "Trio included by England U-20s". Leicester Tigers. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2008.

External links

• Tigers profile