28 November 2016

Please note: this news article is in our archive. Articles were correct at time of publication, but should not be relied on for accuracy after the passage of time.

Tom Mitchell, the Great Britain rugby 7’s captain at the Rio Olympics, was recognised for his achievement for winning a silver medal by East Grinstead Town Council on Wednesday 23 November.

Town Mayor, Bob Mainstone welcomed Tom and his family to East Court and presented him with a special certificate of recognition on behalf of the Council.

Tom grew up in East Grinstead and attended Escots Primary School before moving to Worth School. He had his first experience of rugby at the East Grinstead Rugby Club at the age of nine. He went on to gain a blue at Oxford University and to become a member of the England 7’s squad. He was then selected to captain the GB Rugby 7’s squad for the Olympics. The exciting tournament saw GB beat Argentina and South Africa on their way to the final where they met the eventual gold medallists Fiji.

At the Mayor’s reception at East Court councillors enjoyed seeing film of Tom playing rugby and they asked him questions about the Olympics and his rugby career. Tom explained in detail the excitement of being selected and the mounting pressure as the GB team won their way to the final.

Tom’s gran, Betty, described how she watched Tom’s Olympic matches on TV and prayed he would not get injured! His parents, Sue and Alan, spoke about Tom growing up and his love of sport. They were in Rio for the Rugby 7’s but had to book their tickets, flight and accommodation before Tom was officially selected to represent GB!

Andy Poole, President of East Grinstead Rugby Club, joined the Council celebrations and thanked Tom for visiting the club and meeting the junior members.

Town Mayor Bob commented, “We are very proud of East Grinstead’s Rio Olympians in Rugby 7’s, men’s hockey and women’s hockey. It was a great pleasure to recognise Tom’s achievement and to hold an evening in his honour. We wish him success in his future rugby career.”

The Town Council are working with the town’s hockey club to arrange a date when all of the hockey Olympians are in town so their achievements can also be recognised. Laura Unsworth and Sophie Bray were members of the gold medal winning women’s hockey team.