TOM VOYCE was one of the shooting stars of Wasps when they ruled Europe in the days of Lawrence Dallaglio, Warren Gatland and Ian McGeechan.
Voyce was so quick off the mark he once scored a try for Wasps 9.63 seconds into a game against Harlequins in 2004 – then the quickest in the Premiership.
Born in Cornwall, where he played mini-rugby at Penryn RFC, Voyce was a keen cricketer as youngster, playing for Perranworthal CC before moving to King’s School in Taunton.
Rugby ran in the winger’s family.
His great uncle, also Tom, won 27 caps for England as a flanker, Grand Slams in 1921, 1923 and 1924 and ended up as President of the RFU.
He was also a military hero who suffered an eye injury serving with the Buffs in World War One and a British Lion in 1924.
Voyce began to be noticed in his own right when he was recruited by legendary coach Jack Rowell at Bath as a 15-year-old schoolboy.
He then moved to Wasps, making his England debut on the tour to North America in 2001 in San Francisco.
In 2005 he messaged then-England boss Andy Robinson straight after a game against Bristol.
Robinson had told Voyce he wanted to be excited and shortly after scoring a stunner against Bristol Voyce was on the phone.
Wasps captain Dallaglio had egged Voyce on. “Text him,” said the skipper.
And Voyce did, telling Robinson it might be worth watching the video of the try.
It didn’t sway Robinson.
Voyce didn’t get picked then but did force his way back into the team for the 2006 Six Nations, with Josh Lewsey injured, and the summer tour to Australia where he won the last of nine caps.
Voyce was a key player in the Premiership for more than a decade.
Wasps were the dominant side in the league and in Voyce’s first season there, after a move from Bath, they won the Premiership and European Cup double with the wing playing in both finals.
A year later Voyce scored in the Premiership final as Wasps beat Leicester 39-14 and ruined Martin Johnson’s last day as a professional rugby player.
The build-up to that game was dominated by the World Cup-winning captain’s retirement but Dallaglio and co spoiled the party.
Voyce added another European winners’ medal to his collection in 2007.
Wasps trained in Acton at the time where the gym was a spit and sawdust affair light years away from the plush facilities players train in now.
Head coach Shaun Edwards, who worked under Gatland and McGeechan, ruled the place with an iron fist in a velvet glove and Wasps revelled in their back-to-basics base.
Stints at Gloucester, where he won the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2011, and London Welsh followed before he retired in 2013 after failing to get a club in France.
He married Anna in 2015 and worked for Baydonhill Foreign Exchange before moving to financial giants Investec – which specialises in Banking and Wealth Management.
Voyce moved to Northumberland, where Anna was from, during the pandemic, and his son Oscar plays rugby there on Sunday mornings at a local club.
2000-03 Bath – 55 games, 75 points
2003-09 Wasps – 124 games, 215 points
2009-12 Gloucester – 38 games, 40 points
2012-13 London Welsh – 8 games, 0 points
2001-06 England – 9 games, 15 points
