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Lewis Ludlam

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Lewis Ludlam
Full nameLewis Wesley Ludlam
Date of birth (1995-12-08) 8 December 1995 (age 28)
Place of birthIpswich, England
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight111 kg (245 lb; 17 st 7 lb)
SchoolKesgrave High School
St Joseph's College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker, Number 8
Current team Northampton Saints
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–2015 → Coventry (loan) 6 (15)
2016 → Moseley (loan) 2 (0)
2016–2024 Northampton Saints 116 (75)
2016–2017 → Rotherham Titans (loan) 5 (0)
2024– Toulon 0 (0)
Correct as of 28 August 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–2015 England U18 4 (0)
2015 England U20 4 (0)
2019– England 25 (10)
Correct as of 18 September 2023

Lewis Wesley Ludlam (born 8 December 1995) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for Top 14 club Toulon and formerly for the England national team.[1]

Early life

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Ludlam was born in Ipswich, into a family who followed boxing and football.[2] He is of paternal Palestinian and maternal Guyanese descent.[3]

He attended Kesgrave High School[4] before being recruited on a sports scholarship to a renowned local rugby school, St Joseph's College, Ipswich, and played at Ipswich Rugby Club before joining Colchester RFC.[5]

Junior career

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Ludlam featured on three occasions at the St Joseph's Rugby Festival, first appearing in the under-18 competition as a 15-year-old in 2011, and was also a key member of the side that reached the Daily Mail Cup semi final in the same year. Ludlam captained Waterhead Wolverines, coached by Geoff Owen MBE, to its third victory in the national schools festival in 2013 in front of a raucous home crowd[4] and also captained the school at U16 level to its first win at the Rosslyn Park national schools sevens competition in 2012.

Despite being released by Saints' EPDG Academy, Ludlam regained a place in the Saints' Under-18s and he moved up to the Saints' Senior Academy full time a few years later.[5]

Ludlam then earned the call to the England U18s where he featured in their unbeaten 2014 tour of South Africa.[6] The following year saw Ludlam represent the England U20 team that lost to New Zealand in the final of the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[7] He was subsequently voted England's player of the tournament by his peers.[7]

Club career

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During his time at Saints, Ludlam has spent short periods of his senior career on dual registration with Coventry, Moseley and Rotherham Titans.[4] Breaking into Saints' first-team squad in the 2016–17 campaign, Ludlam made his first-team debut in the Anglo-Welsh Cup opener that season[8] and featured in a further 6 games for the club.[9] Ludlam helped Saints' second team, the Wanderers, lift the Aviva 'A' League trophy in 2016–2017, defeating Gloucester United in the final for the title[10] and again in 2017–2018 winning the final against a very strong Exeter Braves side.[1]

Ludlam made his full Premiership debut in the first game of the 2017–2018 season against Saracens in the London Double Header at Twickenham, scoring his first senior try for the club in the heavy 24–55 defeat to the European Champions.[11] Ludlam's real breakout season for Saints came in the 2018–2019 campaign where he made 27 appearances for the club,[1] scoring four tries and being one of the club's most consistent performers in new director of rugby, Chris Boyd’s first year in charge. From a disappointing previous season, Saints exceeded expectations by reaching a play off semi-final[12] which secured qualification for the European Rugby Champions Cup and won the Premiership Rugby Cup.[13] Ludlam was one of a number of youngsters that Boyd put his faith in, playing an expansive entertaining brand of rugby that delighted Saints fans.

In November 2020 it was announced that Ludlam would become club co-captain with Alex Waller.[14] Subsequently, from the start of the 2021 to 2022 season, Ludlam would take on the solo captaincy of the team.[15]

On 24 June 2024, Ludlam would end his England career as he signs a three-year deal to join top French side Toulon in the Top 14 from the 2024-25 season.[16]

International career

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In June 2019 he was one of four uncapped players named in England's preliminary World Cup training squad[17] and on 11 August 2019 made his debut in a warm-up match against Wales.[18] He was included in the squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup[19] and made four appearances during the tournament,[20] scoring his first international try in the pool fixture against the United States.[21]

Over the next 4 years under Eddie Jones, further caps would be fairly limited but in 2023 under new head coach, Steve Borthwick, Ludlam returned to play every minute of the 2023 Six Nations.

List of international tries

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As of 18 September 2023 [22]
Try Opposing team Location Venue Competition Date Result Score
1  United States Kobe, Japan Kobe Misaki Stadium 2019 Rugby World Cup 26 September 2019 Win 45 – 7
2  Japan Nice, France Stade de Nice 2023 Rugby World Cup 17 September 2023 Win 34 – 12

Personal life

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Ludlam has talked about the importance of 'drawing in' younger spectators to watch rugby, and questioned if 'less is more' in terms of the excitement level of the number of competitions and games played.[23][24]

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Lewis Ludlam club profile". Northampton Saints. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  2. ^ Rees, Paul (5 January 2019). "Northampton's Lewis Ludlam: 'When England won the World Cup, playing rugby seemed the obvious option'". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  3. ^ Meagher, Gerard (13 August 2019). "Lewis Ludlam: 'This time last year I was fighting for a club contract'". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Morgan, Charlie (16 July 2019). "How 'long shot' Lewis Ludlam could be a World Cup wildcard for England after a determined journey to recognition". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  5. ^ a b Verdier, Nick (16 January 2015). "Young Gun: Lewis Ludlam – Northampton and Coventry flanker". The Rugby Paper. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  6. ^ "England Under 18 make it two from two in South Africa". Rugby15. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  7. ^ a b Schofield, Daniel (21 June 2015). "England future shows promise despite World Rugby U20 Championship defeat to New Zealand". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  8. ^ "FALCONS 16 SAINTS 24 Late Hutchinson try seals best Anglo-Welsh start for Saints". Northampton Saints. 6 November 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Saints team for Anglo-Welsh Cup opener". www.northamptonsaints.co.uk.
  10. ^ "WANDERERS 36 GLOUCESTER 15 The Wandies clinch the Aviva 'A' League title". Northampton Saints. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  11. ^ Emons, Michael (2 September 2017). "Premiership: Saracens 55-24 Northampton Saints". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  12. ^ Pilnick, Brent (25 May 2019). "Premiership semi-final: Exeter thrash Northampton to reach fourth straight final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Premiership Rugby Cup Final: Northampton beat Saracens with three first-half tries". BBC Sport. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Northampton Saints: Lewis Ludlam and Alex Waller named co-captains". BBC Sport. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Ludlam named Saints' captain for 2021/22 season". Northampton Saints. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Lewis Ludlum: Toulon confirm signing of Northampton & England flanker". BBC Sport. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  17. ^ Jones, Chris (20 June 2019). "Ruaridh McConnochie & Alex Dombrandt in England's World Cup training squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  18. ^ Grey, Becky (11 August 2019). "England beat Wales 33-19 in World Cup warm-up game". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  19. ^ Jones, Chris (12 August 2019). "Rugby World Cup: England leave out Te'o, name Ludlam & McConnochie in squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  20. ^ Kitson, Robert (26 January 2020). "Lewis Ludlam packed and ready for an England chance against France". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  21. ^ Fordyce, Tom (26 September 2019). "England thrash United States 45-7 in Rugby World Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  22. ^ "Lewis LUDLAM profile and stats". 18 September 2023.
  23. ^ "Lewis Ludlam says rugby has to change to survive amid Worcester and Wasps woes". Daily Mirror. 23 September 2022.
  24. ^ "Lewis Ludlam: 'The position a lot of clubs find themselves in is no joke' | Northampton | the Guardian".
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