Tom Cruse to stay at Northampton Saints
Veteran hooker Tom Cruse has committed his future to Northampton Saints by signing a contract extension, the club have confirmed.
The 34-year-old front rower joined the Saints last season as injury cover from Edinburgh Rugby and quickly made his mark. With eight seasons of Gallagher Premiership experience, Cruse brought a wealth of knowledge to Franklin’s Gardens after a long stint with Wasps.
Since his arrival, Cruse has made nine appearances for the Saints, including a start in the Gallagher Premiership semi-final against Saracens. Known for his reliability in the set-piece, the hooker had an impressive record during his time at Wasps, amassing 114 appearances and scoring 21 tries in six seasons before the club faced financial difficulties in 2022.
Cruse’s rugby journey began with local club Stockport before progressing through the ranks of Sale Sharks’ academy. He showcased his talent with Macclesfield in National Two North and later secured a move to Championship team Rotherham Titans. During his time at Rotherham, Cruse was named in the Championship Dream Team as the league’s standout hooker, scoring 11 tries in 44 appearances.
His performances caught the attention of London Irish, where he made 14 appearances during the 2015/16 season before joining Wasps. Cruse’s outstanding form earned him the Players’ Player of the Season award in 2017/18, as he notched up 24 appearances and seven tries for the club.
Having joined Northampton from Edinburgh on a short-term deal, Cruse’s extension ensures his continued presence in the black, green, and gold jersey. He will join the ranks of Sam Matavesi, Curtis Langdon, Robbie Smith, and talented Academy players Craig Wright and Aston Gradwick-Light as Northampton’s hookers for the upcoming 2023/24 season.
“The initial move to Saints came at the perfect time for me, as I was up in Edinburgh away from my family, so being back in the Premiership and back with them was a big pull,” said Cruse. “But since I got to the club, I’ve been blown away by how good it’s been. I’ve been on the phone to the coaches since the end of the season to tell them just how much I have enjoyed my time in Northampton so far.
“It was obviously disappointing to lose out in the semi-finals of the Premiership, but it was a really enjoyable run-in to the season – there is an unbelievable group of players, coaches and backroom staff at the Club, and it was easy to come into this environment and feel welcome straight away.
“Saints is a club that is very much together, and well run from top to bottom. The fanbase is amazing, with the Gardens packed out every week – the atmosphere they create on matchday is unique and so I can’t wait to carry on in Northampton.
“I think I’ve signed more autographs in the last few months than I have done the rest of my career put together, and it’s fantastic to feel that backing from the supporters.
“We’ve got a very strong group of hookers at the Club, with everyone learning from each other and driving each other forward. That competition is exactly what you want within your squad in every position, so it’s really exciting to think about how much we can all grow together as a group and build on what we did last year.”
Director of Rugby Phil Dowson expressed his excitement about the formidable line-up competing for the No.2 jersey in the upcoming season. “We were hugely impressed by Tom when he came into the group midway through the season – impressed by his competitive nature, by his communication skills, by the energy he brings in everything he does, and by the way he drives our standards,” said Dowson.
“He’s a good man and a very good, experienced player who can do a lot of the things all over the park that we like, and with Tom signed up alongside the other hookers already in place for the 2023/24 season, we’re confident we have one of the strongest and deepest line-ups in that position in the Premiership.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to comments