Lewis Ludlam

Lewis Wesley Ludlam (born 8 December 1995) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for Top 14 club Toulon and formerly for the England national team.

Early life Ludlam was born in Ipswich, into a family who followed boxing and football. He is of paternal Palestinian and maternal Guyanese descent.

He attended Kesgrave High School before being recruited on a sports scholarship to a renowned local rugby school, St Joseph's College, Ipswich, and played at Ipswich Rugby Club before joining Colchester RFC.

Junior career Ludlam featured on three occasions at the St Joseph's Rugby Festival, first appearing in the under-18 competition as a 15-year-old in 2011, and was also a key member of the side that reached the Daily Mail Cup semi final in the same year. Ludlam captained Waterhead Wolverines, coached by Geoff Owen MBE, to its third victory in the national schools festival in 2013 in front of a raucous home crowd The following year saw Ludlam represent the England U20 team that lost to New Zealand in the final of the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship. He was subsequently voted England's player of the tournament by his peers. and featured in a further 6 games for the club. Ludlam helped Saints' second team, the Wanderers, lift the Aviva 'A' League trophy in 2016–2017, defeating Gloucester United in the final for the title and again in 2017–2018 winning the final against a very strong Exeter Braves side. Ludlam's real breakout season for Saints came in the 2018–2019 campaign where he made 27 appearances for the club, which secured qualification for the European Rugby Champions Cup and won the Premiership Rugby Cup. Ludlam was one of a number of youngsters that Boyd put his faith in, playing an expansive entertaining brand of rugby that delighted Saints fans.

In November 2020 it was announced that Ludlam would become club co-captain with Alex Waller. Subsequently, from the start of the 2021 to 2022 season, Ludlam would take on the solo captaincy of the team.

On 24 June 2024, Ludlam would end his England career as he signs a three-year deal to join top French side Toulon in the Top 14 from the 2024-25 season.

International career In June 2019 he was one of four uncapped players named in England's preliminary World Cup training squad and on 11 August 2019 made his debut in a warm-up match against Wales. He was included in the squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and made four appearances during the tournament, scoring his first international try in the pool fixture against the United States.

Over the next 4 years under Eddie Jones, further caps would be fairly limited but in 2023 under new head coach, Steve Borthwick, Ludlam returned to play every minute of the 2023 Six Nations.

List of international tries

Personal life Ludlam has talked about the importance of 'drawing in' younger spectators to watch rugby, and questioned if 'less is more' in terms of the excitement level of the number of competitions and games played.

Honours

England Rugby World Cup / Webb Ellis Cup Runner up: 2019

Northampton Saints Gallagher Premiership Winner: 2023/2024 Gallagher Premiership