He was once England's most capped hooker, [2] and has played for the British and Irish Lions. Formerly Steve Walter, born 15 July in Hemel Hempstead , he started playing rugby at 15 at the Northampton School for Boys and went on to play for Northampton Old Scouts alongside Ben Cohen in a very successful [ citation needed ] youth team. He also trained with the youth section of Saints and, at 18, was selected for the apprentice scheme at the club's academy as a back row forward.
Thompson continued to develop as a player and became co-captain of Northampton Saints. At Northampton he was a replacement in the victorious Heineken Cup Final as they defeated Munster. On 15 April Thompson announced his immediate retirement from rugby due to a career ending neck injury that he had suffered during the closing Heineken Cup pool match against Biarritz at Franklin's Gardens in January But on 22 October , Thompson announced he would be returning to the game after consulting medical staff.
Thompson represented the club in three Top 14 campaigns. On 31 May Thompson finally agreed a 2-year deal with Leeds Carnegie after a lot of speculation. This saw him join up with former International team mate Neil Back who was head coach at Leeds. Leeds were relegated from the β11 Aviva Premiership. On 1 May it was announced that he had signed a 3-year deal with London Wasps. This required surgery to relieve symptoms of numbness and dizziness, but to carry on playing would carry serious risk to his health.
Since his retirement, Thompson has been based in Dubai and has acted as an ambassador for the Christina Noble Children's Foundation. He scored his maiden test try against Italy in the Six Nations , a tournament which saw England win the Grand Slam.
He was a member of the England team that won the Rugby World Cup. Thompson continued as an England regular in the Autumn games of From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 9 August Retrieved 24 August London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 June Retrieved 7 September BBC Sport. London: The Daily Mail.
