Thom was playing in his 10th international against Wales in February 2010 when he suffered a serious spinal injury. The injury ended a very promising career as Thom was forced to retire from all forms of rugby (he was also a Scotland sevens international) on 1 July 2010 after months of recovery and rehabilitation. Over the years preceding his injury, Thom had been identified as a rising star of world rugby and was looking forward to many years as a try scoring game breaker for both Glasgow and Scotland. Upon hearing from Hambo and agreeing to become an Ambassador Thom said, 'I had a serious spinal injury which forced me to retire from Rugby. I was very fortunate, but I have seen first-hand the mental and physical stress that people less fortunate than myself have to endure. Matt is an inspiration to me and what he and his team are doing with his foundation will make such a difference to those people in need. It is a pleasure to be involved.'