Tom Croft interviewed by The Field
The former professional rugby star talks to Mary Skipwith about his career highlights, his passion for stalking and how he found much-missed camaraderie on the shooting field
Throughout his rugby career, whether playing for Leicester Tigers, England or the British & Irish Lions, Tom Croft was encouraged to uphold the sport’s core values of teamwork, respect, discipline and sportsmanship. Just as he may not have foreseen the success that would come his way when he first picked up a ball aged 11, perhaps he also didn’t imagine finding so many parallels in another of his passions: the world of fieldsports.
Growing up in the village of Kingsclere in Hampshire, Tom Croft had an outdoorsy life playing on the millstream and running about with sticks. With both parents being teachers, good grades were important and he enjoyed all aspects of his education: “I did the full spectrum, including dance and athletics, before I got into rugby. When I went to Oakham on a sports scholarship the fact I had done dance became a huge part of my unique selling point – I could jump high, was agile and easy to lift. I am a huge advocate for children doing as many sports as possible rather than narrowing their range too soon. They pick up so many transferable skills that way.”
Croft has taken a similar approach when introducing his own children to fieldsports. “I try to expose them to different things and then they can choose. When my daughter was little I brought a duck home from a shoot and she was curious about it, so we turned plucking it into a game to find the meat,” he recalls. “When I took them for a clay lesson at Honesberie Shooting School my son loved it. Nick [Hollick, the owner] told him the safety rules and he has abided by them ever since. I think children have a real respect for something when taught the right way.” (Read how to hold your gun safely.)
The same respect for doing things properly is inherent in Croft, to the point where he completed the Deer Stalking Certificate to equip himself with as much knowledge as possible. He even bought a Bavarian mountain hound, Rolo, to track anything if it hadn’t been a clean shot: “Even when just a pup, the instinct is so innate in the breed that Rolo did exactly what she should. I can’t say the same for our newest addition, Jerry the terrier. One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to train him before he destroys the house.”
Croft has always been driven to perform at his best: “When I was playing rugby I’d be sick in the changing room because I’d put so much pressure on myself.” He clearly delivered. Croft clocked up 173 games for Leicester Tigers, secured 40 England caps and represented the British & Irish Lions in 2009 and 2013. “My most treasured memories are from playing the first of each of those, although winning the 2013 Lions’ series was the pinnacle,” he says. “I was so lucky to be a one-club man and for such a successful one, too. We made the finals for my first eight years at Tigers. It was tough when we failed to in 2014 but when things don’t go your way you can’t just give up.”
This determination has served Croft well when facing injuries: “I have broken everything from my ankles up to my neck; the latter was the most difficult setback. I remember the doctor telling me how close I had come to being paralysed. The only way to cope was to trust in the process: have an operation, do the rehab.”
Following the process is now a big part of his approach to stalking: “I have my routine every time, from checking the rifle and testing the sights through to how the gralloch is done.” His first stalking experience came courtesy of Owen Beardsmore of Cervus-UK deer management, a big rugby fan. “I got such a buzz,” he remembers. “It felt like such a raw version of man versus beast. Also, I am basically a big kid, so loading ammunition in a bolt-action gun with a scope made me feel like Action Man.” While being 6ft 6in tall may have served him well on the rugby pitch, it has its disadvantages: “I’ve spooked a number of deer because I haven’t hidden myself well enough. But I love the challenge.”
Just as his Lions victory is the highlight of his rugby career, Croft treasures one stalking trip above all: “Some years ago I went to Prague with Owen and an old teammate. We arrived in the forest to a welcome of lit braziers before being driven to the pegs in the freezing cold. We’d been instructed on shooting überläufer [young wild boar] and how to identify their sex (a skill in itself when you’ve got pigs dashing through a forest). Hours passed before a sudden stream came through. Having to give a pig lead with a rifle is a novelty. I managed to drop two before we retired for beer and sausages, and for first-timers to be whacked with a branch by the head of the hunt. It was unlike anything I’d done before.”
He has a lot of experiences to choose from for comparison, too. Game days have ranged from Belvoir Castle to one in his village – “a proper farm shoot where we have a brilliant day, get stuck in at supper and stumble home in the evening. It’s not about the numbers. In fact, I prefer game days to be small,” insists Croft. “I’ve never been on a day where it has felt pretentious, and I wouldn’t fit in if it did. It’s so important to feel comfortable and be yourself.” Attire can help with that. “When I put on my tweed it’s like a uniform – it gives me a degree of confidence in a similar way my rugby kit did. I know what’s expected of me when I am in it.”
The camaraderie is familiar too. “Even out of season there’s events like The Game Fair that provide opportunities to keep in touch with people you might not see regularly. Shooting is so social; there’s the ability to replicate the bonds of the changing room, which I was missing.” It is evident that, whether it contains a rugby ball or a peg, the sporting field is where Tom Croft belongs.