Inspiring and Supporting young people seriously injured through sport
The Foundation is backed by an enormously active and supportive patron and host of ambassadors that help spread the word about the work that we do.
Mike Tindall MBE is patron of The Matt Hampson Foundation and our biggest advocate. Former England rugby captain Mike has been a friend of Matt’s and a supporter of the charity since its beginnings in 2011, becoming patron in 2014 and officially opening the Get Busy Living centre in 2018 (he even got his own official plaque by the door!)
Mike has been capped 75 times by England and was part of the World Cup winning team in 2003. Mike is married to Zara Phillips, the eldest granddaughter of HRH Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip Duke of Edinburgh, and the pair have two daughters. Since retiring from rugby he has featured on a number of reality TV programmes including Bear Grylls: Mission Survive and The Jump.
Mike is a very active patron and tireless advocate of the Foundation. His annual charity golf day raises valuable funds the Foundation and is an event in our annual calendar that’s always hugely popular.
Mike says: "It was a massive honour when Matt asked me to be patron of the Foundation. The way he has conducted himself since his injury in 2005, and the number of people he has helped is remarkable.
“You can never imagine what it is like to suffer an injury like Matt's or any of the beneficiaries, but to see them all out there getting busy living is inspiring. It's the power of wanting to move on and live your life and you just have to be in awe of that. I'm proud to be part of this charity and I'm excited to see where we can take it in the coming years"
Jim enjoyed a successful and well-travelled rugby career as a second-row forward with Leicester Tigers, Gloucester and Saracens in the English Premiership, Edinburgh in Scotland and at Montpellier in France.
After playing in England age-groups, he made his international debut with Scotland in 2006 as the country’s 1,000th senior cap, and went to his first World Cup a year later. He ended his career with a total of 63 Test match appearances.
Already a Premiership winner with Leicester, Jim won-back-to-back league titles with Saracens and a European Cup double in 2016 and ’17 before retirement.
He set up a sports marketing company, then ‘Big Jim’ became familiar as co-presenter of the Rugby Pod, discussing issues and characters in the game alongside former team-mate Andy Goode, and also creative director for Rugby Pass.
Jim has been a supporter of the Foundation for many years and is regularly attends its events, often taking to the stage to share stories of his days in rugby.
Award-winning television presenter and former international gymnast Gabby Logan MBE has been a familiar face to the British public since the 1990s.
After competing for Wales at the Commonwealth Games and completing her university studies, Gabby began a media career which has included spells as primetime television host of the Olympic Games, Champions League and international football, Six Nations rugby, London Marathon, Invictus Games and BBC Sports Personality of the Year as well as quiz and magazine programmes.
Daughter of Wales international footballer Terry Yorath, she is married to Scotland rugby international Kenny Logan and is patron to a number of charitable causes.
Second in the list of all-time points scorers in Premiership Rugby history, Andy Goode had a professional career spanning almost two decades up to 2016 with clubs in England, France and South Africa.
He was inducted into the Premiership Rugby Hall of Fame in 2021 and his post-playing career has taken him into commentary and punditry, including as co-presenter of the Rugby Pod with fellow Foundation ambassador Jim Hamilton. He has also worked in finance.
Andy was a Premiership and European champion with Leicester after joining the club straight from school, and later played with Saracens, Newcastle, Worcester, Wasps, Brive in France and the Sharks in South Africa, also winning 17 caps for England. He is a Premiership Rugby Hall of Famer.
He is a long-time supporter of the Matt Hampson Foundation.
Gregg Wallace is a broadcaster, writer, media personality and entrepreneur familiar to UK television audiences as presenter of BBC’s MasterChef, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef : The Professionals.
He has also appeared as guest panelist and entrant on numerous reality shows.
Gregg is a big rugby fan and had met Matt on numerous occasions at matches before accepting the role of an Ambassador for the Foundation in 2012. Gregg is a regular at Foundation events and has provided many auction lots over the years.
He was appointed MBE in 2020 for services to the food industry and charity.
European Player of the Year in 2019 when he won the European Champions Cup with Saracens for a third time, Alex Goode is among the most successful players in English club rugby history.
An all-round sportsman excelling in athletics, tennis and football as a junior, the former Oakham School student focused solely on rugby when he joined the Saracens academy and made his professional rugby debut in 2008.
He played at full-back or fly-half in making a record number of appearances for Saracens in the professional era, passing the 300 mark in 2022, and collected the sixth Premiership title of his career in 2022/23 to go with the European treble. He was also Premiership Player of the Year in 2016 and has 21 senior caps for England after previous age-group honours.
Alex – no relation to fellow Foundation ambassador Andy Goode – is a big supporter of Matt’s and says: “I hope to continue to assist the Foundation in whatever way I can.”
The eldest of seven rugby-playing brothers, Fereti ‘Freddie’ Tuilagi joined Leicester Tigers after spells in English rugby league with Halifax and St Helens. He had already played for Samoa in the 15-man code at the 1995 Rugby World Cup and became an instant hit with Tigers fans and the English rugby audience with his powerful play from the wing.
A Premiership and European champion with Leicester, he also played for Cardiff and Biarritz but remained based in the Leicester area, watching his brothers make their mark in the sport as well as making regular corporate appearances – usually in traditional Samoan dress!
He is a big supporter of the Foundation and says: “I'm happy to do all I can to further Matt's work both here in the UK and other places around the globe where care for injured sportsmen and women is not as advanced.”
Born in Leicester, Emily Scarratt made her 100th Test rugby appearance for England on home turf in front of a record crowd at the home of the Leicester Tigers during 2022.
She first played rugby at the Leicester Forest club, then joined the pioneering women’s rugby set-up at Lichfield before joining Loughborough Lightning in the Premiership.
Just a teenager when first capped by England in 2008, Emily was named World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year in 2019 and became England’s record points-scorers a year later. She has also played in World Sevens and Commonwealth Games, and captained Team GB at the Rio Olympics in 2016, finishing fourth.
Emily was appointed MBE for services to rugby in 2021. A qualified teacher, she has been a huge supporter of the Foundation and represents us at many functions and events.
An England international cricketer, James Taylor was born at Burrough-on-the-Hill, close to the Foundation’s Get Busy Living Centre, as the son of a National Hunt jockey.
He made his county debut with Leicestershire in 2009 and became the youngest player in the club’s history to score 1,000 Championship runs in a season. A top-order batsman, James gained One-Day International status with England just two summers later and his Test debut followed in 2012 shortly after joining Nottinghamshire.
He remained in the international picture through to 2016, playing in the 2015 World Cup and in all four Tests of series victory over South Africa before being forced into retirement by the discovery of a serious heart condition aged just 26.
He remained in the game as a national selector and scout, then as a batting coach back in the county game.
The youngest of the rugby-playing Tuilagi brothers, Manusamoa Tuilagi followed his older siblings into the Leicester Tigers ranks but was the first to win international honours with England and selection with the British & Irish Lions.
A centre known for his strength in breaking down defences, Manu made his breakthrough in 2011, being named Tigers Young Player of the Year by supporters and team-mates after scoring eight tries in his first season of senior rugby. He was also the Rugby Players Association Young Player of the Year and scored a try on his England debut in a win over Wales before going to a first Rugby World Cup.
One of the most recognisable men in world rugby, he overcame a number of injuries to pass 50 caps for England in 2022 after a move to Sale Sharks and has been associated with the Foundation for many years. He says: “I want to do my best to help as an Ambassador for Hambo's Foundation. I'm proud to be associated with the good work it is carrying out at home and abroad.”
Originally from Norfolk, Freddie Steward was an Academy League double winner with Leicester Tigers then quickly established himself at senior level at club and international level.
He made his Tigers debut in a Cup tie during 2018/19 before a call-up for his first Premiership experience and then made the full-back jersey his own during the Covid lockdown phase in 2020. After selection for England Under-20s, he progressed to the senior Test ranks under Eddie Jones and was a Premiership title winner in 2022 under Steve Borthwick.
At six feet five inches tall, Freddie is recognised among the very best challenging for high ball as a safe pair of hands in defence and has also added a number of tries for club and country. He became an Ambassador for the Foundation in 2023 shortly before selection in the England squad for his first Rugby World Cup.
A Leicester Tigers Academy graduate from a farming family Norfolk, Jack van Poortvliet followed in the footsteps of Ben Youngs as scrum-half with club and country.
He was an Academy League double winner with Tigers while still at Oakham School and gained his first experience of senior club rugby in 2018/19 with a Premiership debut the following season. Jack captained Tigers in the Premiership Rugby Cup and England through an Under-20s Six Nations Grand Slam before promotion to Test status then joined club colleague Youngs in the senior international squad. He joined the list of Foundation Ambassadors in 2023 before being named in the England squad for his first Rugby World Cup.
A second-generation Tiger, prop James Whitcombe followed his dad Martin as a Leicester prop, coming through the club’s academy to reach senior ranks. He has a rich sporting heritage as great-grandfather Frank Whitcombe was one of the great Welsh rugby league forwards.
James joined Tigers from school in West Yorkshire and played in back-to-back Under-18 League title wins while also earning England age-group selection. He spent the summer of 2019 on a player exchange programme gaining experienced in Australia, earned his first senior selection with Tigers in 2020/21 and added captaincy responsibilities in the Premiership Cup the following year.
Lincolnshire-born Ollie Chessum saw his persistence and determination rewarded when he returned to Leicester Tigers in 2020 and made a big enough impression to soon win a first Premiership title and international selection.
As a second-row forward, Ollie gained valuable gametime in men’s rugby with Championship club Nottingham after previous experience in the Tigers academy programme and returned to Leicester to play in the development team as a teenager and then as a permanent addition to the squad during the lockdown period in the summer of 2020.
He made his Premiership debut in August that year and established himself in 2021/22 when he ended the season with a first league winner’s medal.
He made an instant impression in Test rugby with England and became an Ambassador for the Foundation in 2023 shortly before selection for his first Rugby World Cup.
Actors James and Oliver Phelps made their big-screen breakthrough as Fred and George Weasley in the Harry Potter film series and have been major supporters of the Matt Hampson Foundation over several years.
Born in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, the twins were selected for the Harry Potter parts from auditions despite having no previous acting experience and have since appeared behind the camera in various roles as well as in front of it. They have collaborated on a podcast entitled ‘Normal Not Normal’ featuring discussion and interviews and are supporters of several charitable causes including the Matt Hampson Foundation.
Leicester born and bred, Dan Cole came through the city rugby club’s academy levels to enjoy a long and successful professional career at the highest level.
He played junior rugby with South Leicester before moving to the Leicester Tigers academy and gained valuable experience with Bedford on the way to a Premiership debut during the 2008/09 season. He won his first Premiership title that year and was a Twickenham winner again in 2010, ’13 and ’22.
Dan won a first England cap in 2010, missing just one of the next 41 Tests, and in 2013 he followed the Premiership Final win over local rivals Northampton with a place in the British & Irish Lions squad for the victorious tour in Australia. He was selected again four years later for the drawn series in New Zealand when he also officially became an ambassador of the Matt Hampson Foundation.
Dan was part of the England squad at the Rugby World Cup in 2011 and ’15, played in a world Cup Final in 2019 and, after passing 100 caps for his country, was named in the squad for his fourth tournament in 2023.
George Ford made history for his achievements throughout his youth, including being World Rugby Young Player of the Year, before becoming a Premiership title winner and senior international.
From rugby league country in Oldham and son a former GB international Mike, Ford was just 16 years old when he made his senior debut for Leicester Tigers in 2009 and made his first winning appearance in the Premiership Final in 2013 on the way to his England debut the following March.
George was a Six Nations champion in 2016 and ’17, and started in the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final before leaving Leicester for Sale Sharks where he reached another Premiership Final in 2023. Former Leicester coach Steve Borthwick included him in the England squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
With Leicester Tigers, England and the British & Irish Lions, Tom Croft enjoyed a decade of success in rugby’s highest levels.
He came through the Tigers Academy and Oakham School – where he played in the same rugby team as England cricket hero Stuart Broad – to make his senior rugby debut in 2005 and quickly made an impact as a quick, athletic and dynamic forward operating either at lock or flanker. By 2008 he earned the first of 40 England caps and a year later scored two tries in the opening Test of the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa.
He went on a second Lions tour in 2013 immediately after collecting a fourth Premiership title and played in the opening two Tests of the series win in Australia. After recovering from a series of injuries, he enjoyed another impressive season in 2015/16 before retirement in November 2017.
Tom says: “I am enormously proud to be able to assist Hambo as an Ambassador of the Foundation.”
Born in Rotorua, New Zealand, Dylan Hartley moved to the UK and went on to captain the England rugby team.
His first club rugby in England was with Crowborough in Sussex before joining the Worcester Warriors academy and then signing as a hooker for Northampton Saints in 2005. He became the youngest club captain in the Premiership under coach Jim Mallinder and in his mid-twenties had already passed a century of appearances.
One year group below Matt Hampson, Dylan played for England in the 2005 Under-21s World Cup and then for the Saxons in 2007 before becoming a senior international in 2008. He remained first-choice hooker and led the team for the first time on the tour of South Africa in the summer of 2012, retaining the role until retirement in 2019 with 97 caps. He captained the Grand Slam team in 2016.
International back-rower James Haskell had a well-travelled career in professional rugby, earning international honours with England and selection for the British & Irish Lions.
He joined Wasps from his local club Maidenhead and played in the same England Under-21 team as Matt Hampson, packing down behind him during a training session at Franklins Gardens when the prop's injury occurred. As a good friend, James was shocked and upset by the events, saying “Being there when Matt was injured has made it very personal for me, it was also upsetting to think that Matt would no longer be a part of the set-up with England, particularly as we were really starting to gel as a unit. Hambo is a great mate and I am impressed by the work he has done since his injury, especially his efforts in setting up the Foundation. I want to be able to help and being an Ambassador allows me to assist and show support for Matt’s work.”
As a Premiership and European champion, James moved to Stade Francais, Ricoh Black Rams in Japan, Highlanders in New Zealand before a second spell with Wasps and season at Northampton. He won 77 England caps and went to the 2017 Lions tour as an injury replacement before retirement in 2019, moving into mixed martial arts, podcasting and work as a DJ alongside regular TV appearances.
Leicester Tigers and England scrum-half for well over a decade, Ben became England rugby’s most capped man in 2022 and earned selection for his fourth Rugby World Cup in 2023.
Following his dad Nick into the Tigers number nine jersey, Ben enjoyed considerable success playing alongside older brother Tom in the shirts of club and country as well as on the triumphant tour to Australia with the British & Irish Lions in 2013. He made his Tigers senior debut in 2007 after coming through the academy and passed 300 first-team appearances during 2022/23. He played in his first Premiership Final at Twickenham before his 18th birthday and collected league title winner’s medals in 2007, ’09, ’10, ’13 and ’22.
Ben has enormous respect for the work carried out by Matt and the Foundation, saying: “It is great to know that there is an organisation to whom the families of those badly injured through sport can turn to for advice and assistance, and I am happy to do all I can to help by being an Ambassador.”
Born in Bristol, Ellis Genge made his big breakthrough as a rugby front-rower with Leicester Tigers after moving to the East Midlands in the last months of the 2015/16 season. Her was called into the England squad that summer after one starting appearance for the Tigers and made his international debut against Wales.
He became an England regular and was part of the squad that reached the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final after previously gaining age-group honours at four levels.
Ellis captained Tigers in 2021/22, lifting the Premiership trophy with predecessor Tom Youngs at Twickenham after Final victory over Saracens in his last appearance for the club before returning ‘home’ with Bristol Bears.
He gained captaincy experience with England in 2022/23 and was named as vice-captain in Steve Borthwick’s squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
Son of an England opening batsman, Stuart Broad burst on to the county scene with Leicestershire in 2005 and made his first England appearance in one-day cricket a year later.
The former Oakham School student moved to Nottinghamshire, his home county, in 2008 and made his Test debut against Sri Lanka that winter. A seam bowler who had started his cricket career as an opening batsman, he played a central role in the Ashes triumph of 2009 and took 8 wickets for just 15 runs on home ground at Trent Bridge in the series in 2015, the second-best Ashes bowling figures of all time.
A vital part of the attack in all forms of the game, Stuart was appointed an MBE in 2016, captained England in T20 cricket, hit a Test century against Pakistan and sat fifth on the all-time list of Test wicket-takers when he retired after the 2023 Ashes (604 wickets in 167 Tests). For added drama, he hit the last ball he faced for six and then took the last wicket of the series with the final ball of his career.
Stuart is a big fan of Leicester Tigers and Nottingham Forest, and is delighted to be an Ambassador and says: “I am inspired by Hambo and the work that his Foundation is carrying out.”
Born in Hong Kong, second-row forward Cameron Henderson joined Leicester Tigers during the summer of 2020 and three years later became a senior rugby international with Scotland.
He originally spent a summer with Tigers Under-18s during 2017 but was based in Scotland where he joined Glasgow Warriors as a Scottish Rugby Academy player, gaining representative honours at Under-20s level.
After returning to Tigers during the Covid postponement period in 2020, Steve Borthwick gave him his senior debut and he was part of the Premiership-winning squad in 2022, earning his first selection for Scotland training squads and then making his Test debut during the build-up to the Rugby World Cup.
Dan Kelly took the short journey from Loughborough University to Leicester Tigers during 2020 and just a year later was celebrating a first cap for England.
The Manchester-born centre was a member of the Sale Sharks Academy from 2017 and won Ireland Under-20s honours before playing in the National League with Loughborough Students. After his move to Leicester, he made his Premiership debut in August 2020 and adapted quickly to the top flight, impressing enough to gain his first England cap against Canada at Twickenham during the summer of 2021. He won a first Premiership title with Tigers in 2022 when he also became an Ambassador for the Matt Hampson Foundation.
George Martin made his Leicester Tigers debut as an 18-year-old at the start of the 2019/20 and collected a first England cap just a year later after a handful of senior games.
As a double winner in the Under-18 League with Tigers, he also gained England age-group honours, captaining the national under-18 team before his breakthrough in senior rugby at the resumption of the Covid-hit 2019/20 campaign. After an impressive start, he suffered a knee injury but recovered to win a first Premiership title in 2022, coming off the bench in the Final at Twickenham, and passed 50 appearances for Leicester the following season. He also returned to the England squad, adding further caps in the second row and being named in the Steve Borthwick squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in the same year he became an Ambassador for the Foundation.
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