Canada's Thomas Isherwood, left, celebrates his try with teammate Canada's Matthew Percillier during HSBC Canada Sevens rugby action against Mexico in Edmonton, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntoshJeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Thomas Isherwood is instantly recognizable, whether on the training pitch or the rugby field.
The mullet ensures that.
“I’m one of those free flowing guys,” the Canadian men’s rugby sevens player said before practice last Friday.
His trademark look, which was replicated by children sporting Isherwood wigs at last year’s Vancouver Sevens series stop, nearly always earns him notice when he’s out among rugby fans.
His distinctive mullet is sure to capture attention once again when the HSBC SVNS Series returns to Vancouver, the fourth stop of the circuit, at the end of February with Canada looking to work its way up the standings ahead of an Olympic qualifier in June.
Isherwood, born in Skelmanthorpe, England, began his rugby journey at the age of four before his family relocated to Okotoks, Alta., when he was 10.
When he first arrived in southern Alberta, he wasn’t sure if he'd be able to continue playing the sport and decided to embrace his new Canadian identity.
“Growing up in England, it was wet, you come to Canada and it was minus-40. I played hockey, it was the most Canadian thing I could’ve done,” he said with a laugh.
“You pick up sports, you play anything you can.”
The rugby season moved from the autumn and winter in England, to the summer in Alberta meaning a change in the conditions he was used to playing in.
Isherwood said he tried to be as flexible as possible when it came to life in Canada and sports.
“You’ve got to adapt to different weather styles,” he said. “Being able to adapt to different environments, different people [who] come from different walks of life, [allows you to] learn all about these guys and what brings them up – why they play the sport, why they’re doing this. I think that all goes into it.”
After graduating high school, unlike many of his Canadian teammates, he eschewed the university rugby experience and moved back to England and played a year with Morley RFC, a semi-professional club based in Leeds.
Olympics on his mind
The Canadian men’s team will play this week in Perth, Australia for the third stop of the sevens series.
Canada stands ninth in the HSBC standings after finishing 12th in Dubai and seventh in Cape Town, where they posted pool wins against New Zealand and Samoa and a final victory over France.
But lurking at the back of the mind of Canadian players is the chance to qualify for the Summer Olympics with a playoff match in Monaco in June.
“It’s such a big year for rugby,” Isherwood said. “It’s always on the back burner, its always on your mind. When you mess up a pass in training or a game, you've got to move on.”
When asked about Isherwood, Canada coach Sean White described him as a “spark plug.”
“He’s our energy,” White said. “When we need a spark in training we go up to him and tell him to lift the tempo.”
White said Isherwood’s growth from a semi-pro player to a national team mainstay is something he wants his team to take to heart.
“The way he plays the game is something we want to highlight,” White said. “There’s a few players on this team that when they hit on all cylinders, we want to follow. He’s certainly one of them.”