Tom Court
Encyclopedia
Tom Court is a rugby union
footballer. He plays for Ulster
as a tighthead and loosehead prop. He primarily played at tighthead in his early career but switched to loosehead in the 2007/2008 season when BJ Botha
arrived at Ulster.
Court was born in Brisbane
, Australia
and began his sporting career as a shotputter
. He was Australian University Champion for three years running and had Olympic trials in 2002. He started playing rugby in 2004 and has represented Manawatu and Queensland Reds
as well as Ulster. In an interview with the Ulster Rugby Website, Court intimated that he had begun playing rugby in order to lose weight.
Court represented the Ireland A side at the 2006 Churchill Cup
before he had played his first game for Ulster. He qualifies to play international rugby for Ireland
through his grandfather, Patrick Carey, who was born in County Limerick
. He was also named in the 2008 Churchill Cup squad and appeared as a substitute in all three games; against USA, England Saxons
and a representative Argentina XV. He made his full Ireland debut in an uncapped match against The Barbarians
at Kingsholm Stadium
in Gloucester
.
Court was named as a replacement for all Ireland's matches of the 2009 RBS 6 Nations and earned his first cap as a replacement for Marcus Horan
during Ireland's 38–9 victory over Italy on 15 February 2009.
Court was named as part of Ireland's Rugby World Cup Squad in 2011, and played in the Irish 15-6 victory over Australia (17 Sep 2011), coming on as a substitute against the country of his birth.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
footballer. He plays for Ulster
Ulster Rugby
Ulster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Ulster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Belfast, representing the Irish province of Ulster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
as a tighthead and loosehead prop. He primarily played at tighthead in his early career but switched to loosehead in the 2007/2008 season when BJ Botha
BJ Botha
Brendon James Botha, better known as BJ Botha is a South African rugby union player. He is a prop for the Irish Province, Munster. He signed for Ulster on Thursday 14 August 2008 on a three year deal, and left the province in May 2011...
arrived at Ulster.
Court was born in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and began his sporting career as a shotputter
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
. He was Australian University Champion for three years running and had Olympic trials in 2002. He started playing rugby in 2004 and has represented Manawatu and Queensland Reds
Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds represent Queensland in the sport of rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a representative team selected on merit from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland...
as well as Ulster. In an interview with the Ulster Rugby Website, Court intimated that he had begun playing rugby in order to lose weight.
Court represented the Ireland A side at the 2006 Churchill Cup
Churchill Cup
The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's teams from Canada, England, the United States, and other invited teams from a wide array of countries....
before he had played his first game for Ulster. He qualifies to play international rugby for Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
through his grandfather, Patrick Carey, who was born in County Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
. He was also named in the 2008 Churchill Cup squad and appeared as a substitute in all three games; against USA, England Saxons
England Saxons
England Saxons is the current name of England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England A...
and a representative Argentina XV. He made his full Ireland debut in an uncapped match against The Barbarians
Barbarian F.C.
The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
at Kingsholm Stadium
Kingsholm Stadium
Kingsholm Stadium is a rugby union stadium in Gloucester, England, and is the home stadium of Gloucester Rugby. The stadium has a capacity of 16,500. It is sometimes nicknamed 'Castle Grim' after the estate where the stadium is built and also in reference to Gloucester's admirable home form...
in Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
.
Court was named as a replacement for all Ireland's matches of the 2009 RBS 6 Nations and earned his first cap as a replacement for Marcus Horan
Marcus Horan
Marcus Horan is an Irish rugby union player who plays loose-head-prop for Munster and Ireland.Horan was educated at St. Munchin's College and Limerick Institute of Technology...
during Ireland's 38–9 victory over Italy on 15 February 2009.
Court was named as part of Ireland's Rugby World Cup Squad in 2011, and played in the Irish 15-6 victory over Australia (17 Sep 2011), coming on as a substitute against the country of his birth.