Ellis Genge (born 16 February 1995) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Premiership Rugby club Bristol Bears and the England national team.
He made his international debut for in 2016. Genge played 26 times for Bristol in a first spell between 2013 and 2016, before joining Leicester Tigers where he played 111 times between 2016 and 2022. He was Leicester captain as they won the 2021-22 Premiership Rugby title. He is known for his aggressive ball carrying and gain line success.
Early life
Born in Bristol Genge grew up on the Knowle West council estate, and was educated at John Cabot Academy. He is a fan of Bristol Rovers football club.
He started playing rugby aged twelve at Old Redcliffians playing in the back row. At sixteen, Genge moved to Hartpury College and captained their rugby team to victory in the AASE league. Genge represented England at youth level from U17 up to U20. According to Genge, he was first introduced to the front row by former England youth coach Bobby Walsh originally to have as an additional option but this eventually resulted in a permanent career change.
Club career
Bristol (2013–2016) Genge joined Bristol at the age of eighteen and was convinced to change position from back row to prop by the offer of a two-year contract if he made the positional change. He went on loan to Clifton to play loosehead prop in National 2 South during the 2014–2015 season starting thirteen games and coming on as a substitute in one other match.
Genge made his professional debut for Bristol on 8 December 2013 in the British and Irish Cup against Scottish side Gala, scoring a try in a 62–7 win. His first league game in the RFU Championship came against London Scottish on 26 September 2014. Genge represented England at under-17 level. He was a member of the England Under-20 squad that won the 2015 Six Nations Under 20s Championship. Later that year he started for the side that lost to New Zealand in the final of the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship to finish runners up.
He made 26 appearances during his first spell at the club.
Early time at Leicester Tigers
Genge gained the attention of Richard Cockerill, moving to Leicester Tigers on loan in February 2016. The move was, in part, due to off-field issues, including being arrested after an away game against Ulster in 2015. He made his Leicester debut as substitute against Wasps on 12 March 2016, replacing Marcos Ayerza, and his first start came on 7 May 2016 against Bath at the Rec. The move to Leicester was made permanent on 26 May 2016.
Genge became a regular for Leicester in the 2016–17 season playing a club-leading 31 matches in the season. It was during this campaign he started for the side that defeated Exeter Chiefs in the final of the 2016–17 Anglo-Welsh Cup. The season ended with him named the club's young player of the year and winning the Premiership Discovery of the Season Award.
On 2 December 2017 Genge suffered a shoulder injury in a league match against Wasps. After four months injured he returned to the starting line up on 7 April 2018 against Bath in a match at Twickenham.
Leicester Tigers captain
For Leicester, Genge scored a try against Ulster in the semi-final of the 2021 EPCR Challenge Cup as Leicester came back from an 11-point half-time deficit to win. He then started in the final as they finished runners up to Montpellier by a single point.
Genge captained Leicester for the first time in September 2020, a 54–7 defeat away to Wasps, and was appointed as the club's permanent captain, replacing Tom Youngs, before the 2021-22 Premiership Rugby season. Genge lead Leicester to their first league title for nine seasons as they beat Saracens 15–12 in the 2022 Premiership Final.
Return to Bristol Bears (2022–) On 15 December 2021 it was confirmed that Genge would leave Leicester in the summer of 2022 to re-join Bristol. The signing was announced with a video that caused controversy. Genge revealed that closeness to family and the ability to see them regularly played a key part in his decision, with covid lockdowns having caused him to re-assess his priorities.
International career
England debut (2016–2018) In May 2016 Genge received his first call-up to the senior England squad by coach Eddie Jones after only one start for Leicester. On 29 May 2016 he made his international debut as a second-half substitute during a 27–13 win against at Twickenham. Genge was included on the 2016 England rugby union tour of Australia but was not used in any of the matches.
