Thomas Wright (born 21 July 1997) is an Australian professional dual-code rugby footballer who plays as a fullback for Super Rugby club the ACT Brumbies and the Australia national team. Wright previously played rugby league as a five-eighth for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL). He made his Australia international rugby union debut against in the Bledisloe Cup match against New Zealand in the second round of the 2020 Tri Nations Series. Wright scored a try with his first touch of the ball in the match, and Australia defeated New Zealand 24–22.
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Early life and background
Thomas Wright was born in Randwick, in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in 1997. In his youth he played rugby league for the Clovelly Crocodiles and La Perouse Panthers as well as rugby union for the Clovelly Eagles Junior Rugby Club, where he was their record try-scorer. In 2009, Wright began his education at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill where he eventually advanced into the schools 1st XV.
In his final year at school (2014), Wright represented St Joseph's while being selected in both the GPS 1st XV and the New South Wales 1st XV. The following year (2015), Wright played in the National Youth Sevens Championship where he was named Player of the Tournament. He was later selected in the Australian Boy's Sevens team, ahead of the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games held in Apia, Samoa. Before the competition was held, however, Wright signed for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team went on to win a silver medal against South Africa.
During his school rugby tenure, Wright mostly played as an outside centre (No. 13) but also operated as a fly-half and an outside back. In 2015 Wright ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Despite his injury, Australian sports blog, Green and Gold Rugby (GAGR), named him as their left wing (No. 11) in the "GPS Team of the Year".
Rugby league career
In August 2015, the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles of the National Rugby League (NRL) signed Wright on a three-year deal. Throughout 2016 Wright played with the Under-20s team in the NRL's National Youth Competition (NYC), also known as the Holden Cup. In 2017 Wright played as the Sea Eagles' NYC five-eighth throughout their 2017 Premiership-winning season. The team, who finished wooden-spooners the previous season, managed to scrape into the finals series point difference. The Sea Eagles NYC team successfully made the Grand Final and defeated the Parramatta Eels NYC 20–18. In total, Wright played 36 games for the Sea Eagles' NYC team over the two years.
Throughout March and April 2018, Wright played eight games for the Blacktown Workers (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles reserves) in the NSW Cup, scoring four tries in the process. On 12 May 2018, Wright made his NRL debut for the Sea Eagles in their 38–24 victory against the Brisbane Broncos at Lang Park, Brisbane. Wright only made another three appearances for the team throughout the rest of the 2018 NRL season, with the majority of his season being played for the Blacktown Workers in the NSW Cup. By the end of the season, Wright had requested a release from his contract.
Rugby union career
ACT Brumbies
In September 2018, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Wright had signed a two-year deal with the Canberra-based Brumbies in the Super Rugby. Wright was named as one of many new signings for the club, for which The Sydney Morning Herald described as an "out of the box recruitment strategy". Wright was reportedly coming out of contract with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles when he was contacted by Brumbies coach Dan McKellar. Talking to Rugby.com.au, Wright stated of the talks: "We started talking about how they want to play and that game plan would ideally suit how I like to play and best – using the ball, an open style of footy. Which is how Australian rugby is starting to play again now, which is really exciting... It's an open brand of footy, playing what's in front of them. So when the opportunity came about to come back to rugby union, I am 21 now and I didn't want to let that opportunity slip to be completely honest." Coach Dan McKellar said that he had been aware of Wright's presence, and spoke approvingly of his skills, stating: "We've been aware of Tom's rugby union background and heard he was interested in coming back to the game. He's got X-factor and there's definitely potential there. He's creative, good footwork, good speed and good acceleration. He can create something out of nothing. He's got a good short kicking game and that comes off the back of a couple of games in rugby league. And he's not afraid to take the ball to the line, he's brave enough to dig in and they're good qualities to have."
On 23 February 2019, Wright made his professional rugby union debut for the Brumbies in Round 2 of the 2019 Super Rugby season against the Chiefs. Wright came on as a substitute in the 70th minute for fullback Tom Banks. The Brumbies won the match at home, 54–17. In the following round, Wright, whom again, came off the bench for fullback Tom Banks, scored his first try for the Brumbies in a 30-point loss to the Hurricanes in Palmerston North. Despite it being Wright's debut year, he showcased his most versatile season to date by playing across four different positions on the field (fullback, right wing, left wing, inside centre), also highlighting the tight competition between the Brumbies' backline positions.
In 2020, Wright played in five of the six opening Brumbies' matches. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was cancelled. Wright would go on to play in eight of the Brumbies' nine matches in the revamped Super Rugby AU. The Brumbies finished the season top of the ladder. Wright started on the left wing in the Brumbies' home Grand Final victory against the Queensland Reds. Wright finished the season the second-highest try scorer, behind Filipo Daugunu. In the middle of the year, there was speculation Wright may go back to rugby league after Rugby Australia froze all contract negotiations with Super Rugby players due to financial uncertainty. In August, however, it was reported that Wright had re-signed with the Brumbies for the following season, which allowed him to make his international debut for Australia months later in the 2020 Tri Nations Series.
International career
In September 2020, Wright was named in Australia coach Dave Rennie's 44-player squad ahead of their opening fixture against New Zealand in the 2020 Tri Nations Series. Wright made his international debut for Australia on 7 November 2020. Wallaby #939, Wright was named on the right wing. After just two minutes into the match, Wright scored a try with his first touch of the ball at Lang Park, Brisbane. Australia won the match 24–22. Wright played in another two fixtures of the 2020 Tri Nations Series.
Wright was among eleven Brumbies players to be called-up to the Wallabies for the 2021 France tour of Australia. Playing in the first two tests, Wright was selected again in the final round of the 2021 Rugby Championship against Argentina and the end-of-year Spring tour. Wright's impact on the Wallabies throughout 2021 was underwhelming, scoring just one try from seven matches. Australian sports news website The Roar gave him a rating of 4.5 out of 10 for his international performances in 2021.
Wright was selected in the Wallabies' 35-man squad for England's 2022 tour of Australia. He featured in the first two Tests on the right wing, crossing the try line in the second match at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Despite his contributions, Australia ultimately fell short, losing the series 2–1. Since 2021, there had been growing speculation around Wright's potential to fill the fullback role for the national side. This conjecture materialised in the opening round of the 2022 Rugby Championship, where a series of injuries prompted a reshuffle that saw Wright named at fullback against Argentina at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza. However, by the third round, he had returned to the right wing, with Reece Hodge assuming fullback duties. During the Spring Tour later that year, Wright transitioned to the left wing, though he would feature once more at fullback before the year concluded.
In 2023, Wright made only two international appearances for the Wallabies in the lead-up to the Rugby World Cup (RWC). Despite having received high praise from head coach Eddie Jones earlier in the year, who remarked that: "Tom has the ability to be the world's best fullback", Wright was ultimately omitted from the final Rugby World Cup squad announced in August. In his absence, Ben Donaldson and Andrew Kellaway were entrusted with fullback duties during the tournament. The Wallabies' campaign, however, ended in disappointment, as they failed to progress beyond the pool stage, a historic low for the team. Reflecting on Wright's exclusion, former Wallabies forward Stephen Hoiles expressed his disbelief on the Between Two Posts podcast, stating: "There was so much going on during the World Cup last year, and there was a Barbarians squad. I remember seeing a photo of the Barbarians and just looking, going, ‘Hang on. Why is Tom Wright not in the Wallabies, like six weeks after it was named? He's only ever been good for every team he's played in.'" Wright would later score a try for Australia A in their 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up match against Portugal. Australia A won 30–17 in Massy, France.