MY LIFEIN RUGBY
TOM PALMER
FORMER ENGLAND SECOND ROW

Pinnacle: Tom Palmer playing for England in the 2012 Six Nations

PICTURE: Getty Images
My 19-year, 450-game professional career began in 1998 with Leeds Tykes, who were then playing in the Allied Dunbar Premiership 2.
I was still at University and playing second division rugby when I was selected to go to North America with England in 2001 at the same time as the Lions tour to Australia. The rumour was that Clive Woodward was disappointed about not getting the Lions job, so he treated it like a full England tour and we stayed in the be...