Thomas Alexander Heathcote (born 11 February 1992) is a former rugby union player. His position was fly-half and he made three appearances for Scotland.

Tom Heathcote
Birth nameThomas Alexander Heathcote
Date of birth (1992-02-11) 11 February 1992 (age 32)
Place of birthInverness, Scotland
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight87 kg (13 st 10 lb; 192 lb)[1]
SchoolBishop Wordsworth's School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-Half
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011–2014
2014–2015
2015–2018
Bath
Edinburgh
Worcester Warriors
53
23
30
(375)
(129)
(164)
Correct as of 1 May 2018
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2012
2012–2013
England U20
Scotland
6
3
(35)
(0)
Correct as of 23 June 2013

Early life

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Heathcote was born in Inverness whilst his English father Gareth, a Nimrod pilot, was stationed at RAF Kinloss.[2] The family returned to England when Heathcote was three.[2] His grandmother was from Wales.[2]

Career

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On 24 September 2011 Heathcote made his first team debut for Bath against Gloucester.[3] The following month saw him score his first points against Leicester Tigers.[4] He claimed his first try against Worcester Warriors during the 2011–12 LV Cup and started in the semi-final defeat of that competition against Leicester.[5][6]

Heathcote represented England U20 during the 2012 Six Nations Under 20s Championship and started in the final round as England defeated Ireland to win the tournament.[7] Later that year he was a member of their squad at the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship and recorded a try in their opening game against Italy.[8] In their last fixture of the competition he scored a dozen points in a victory over Australia as England finished in seventh place.[9]

In November 2012 Heathcote was called up to the Scotland squad qualifying through his birthplace.[10] On 24 November 2012 he made his international debut off the bench as a substitute in the test against Tonga at Pittodrie.[11] In June 2013 Heathcote made his first start against Samoa.[12][13] Later that month he made his third and last appearance for Scotland starting in a victory over Italy.[14]

At the end of the 2013–14 season it was announced that Heathcote would be ending his contract with Bath one-year early and moving to Edinburgh for the 2014–15 Pro12, citing the progression of 'his career and international aspirations.'[15] He featured as a substitute in the 2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup final which Edinburgh lost against Gloucester to finish runners up.[16]

After one year in Scotland it was announced in February 2015 that Heathcote would depart Edinburgh to join Worcester Warriors.[17] On 16 October 2015 he scored an injury time drop goal to help Warriors win their first game back in the Premiership, securing a 13–12 win over Northampton Saints.[18] In May 2018 Heathcote was released by Worcester after a succession of head injuries.[19]

Honours

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Edinburgh

England U20

References

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  1. ^ "Bath Rugby - Tom Heathcote". web page. Bath Rugby. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Ferguson, David (22 November 2012). "Latest recruit Tom Heathcote at core of Andy Robinson's new era of talent". The Scotsman. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  3. ^ "Gloucester 23-6 Bath". BBC Sport. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Bath 26-25 Leicester Tigers". BBC Sport. 1 October 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Bath's Tom Heathcote makes his points in the thrashing of Worcester". The Guardian. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Bath 16-17 Leicester". BBC Sport. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  7. ^ a b "England U20s 20-9 Ireland U20s". RTÉ. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Flying start at JWC". Sky Sports. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  9. ^ "England 17-13 Australia". World Rugby. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Scotland call up England Under-20 international Tom Heathcote". The Guardian. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Scotland 15-21 Tonga". BBC Sport. 24 November 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  12. ^ Reid, Alasdair (7 June 2013). "Scotland v Samoa: Tom Heathcote hopes to reprise starring role for Auld Enemy". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  13. ^ Moffat, Colin (8 June 2013). "Samoa 27-17 Scotland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  14. ^ Moffat, Colin (22 June 2013). "Scotland 30-29 Italy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Tom Heathcote leaves Bath to join Edinburgh to improve cap chances". BBC Sport. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  16. ^ a b Mitchell, Brendon (1 May 2015). "European Challenge Cup final: Edinburgh 13-19 Gloucester". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Tom Heathcote: Worcester Warriors sign Edinburgh fly-half". BBC Sport. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  18. ^ "Worcester's Tom Heathcote hits last-kick drop goal to beat Northampton". The Guardian. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  19. ^ "Tom Heathcote: Worcester Warriors release Scotland stand-off". BBC Sport. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
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