Right from his man of the match debut for the Saints against Leicester tigers, Tom signalled himself out as the revelation of the 2010/11 season.

He joined the Saints after playing for the Saxons in the 2010 Churchill Cup and his subsequent all-action performances led to his inclusion in the full England squad.

In the 2011 Six Nations opener with Wales, Tom's emergence was complete as he won his first England cap in the 26-19 victory and he would go on to start every game of the triumphant campaign in the six jersey.

Back with the Saints, the former Worcester Warrior helped his side through the final of the Heineken Cup and into the Premiership semi-final and while injury cruelly robbed him of his place in both, he was duly recognised as the Aviva Premiership Player of the Season and made most every team of the year going.

A Rugby World Cup call up followed but after a string of typically abrasive Saints performances, a toe injury would frustratingly rule him out of the entire Six Nations campaign, returning to cut short his 2011/12 season at the business end.

Having got the freak injury back under control, however, Tom was quickly back in the white of his country after an impressive start to 2012/13 for the Saints. The workaholic was man of the match in the historic win over the All Blacks in the Autumn, a Six Nations ever present and deservedly named captain by Stuart Lancaster for the summer tour of Argentina.