Club Career
His senior debut for Leicester Tigers came against Gloucester in the 2005–06 season, a week after he turned 20. In the following season, which included a Premiership title and the Anglo-Welsh Cup for the Tigers, he made 16 appearances.
2008–09 could be considered Croft's breakthrough season, in which he established himself both in the club side and on the international scene. He was man-of-the-match in the Heineken Cup semi-final against Cardiff Blues, which resulted in a historic sudden death kicking competition. Fortunately, the shoot-out ended before Croft's turn came up – though it was a close run thing, as either he or Harry Ellis would have followed Jordan Crane. Although the Tigers fell at the final hurdle of the Heineken Cup, they won the 2008-09 Guinness Premiership. Croft played lock in both finals, as a result of injury to team-mate Louis Deacon.
The following season didn't quite match up to the previous for Croft, due in no small part to the two knee injuries he sustained, one after the other in the middle of the season. He worked his way back successfully, however, and featured in another Premiership final victory, this time at blindside flanker.
He captained the Tigers for the first time on 3 October 2010, against Saracens.
Read more about this topic: Tom Croft
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“John Brown’s career for the last six weeks of his life was meteor-like, flashing through the darkness in which we live. I know of nothing so miraculous in our history.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)