Tom Pearson wins Gallagher Player of the Month for March 2023

An X-FACTOR player who has helped propel his side into the Gallagher Premiership Rugby top four has today been named Gallagher Player of the Month for March 2023.

London Irish back-rower, Tom Pearson has burst onto the Gallagher Premiership Rugby scene this season winning plaudits across the league and helping his side into top-four contention. So it's fitting that he's picked up his first Gallagher Player of the Month trophy, finding a big fan in BT Sport pundit and Gallagher ambassador, Ugo Monye.

Monye says: “Tom has been tremendous on both sides of the ball. He’s got such a well-rounded game. He’s incredibly dynamic and elusive with his offloading game and his hard-line running. He’s brilliant in defence over the ball as well and makes big, dominant tackles. His form has come in conjunction with London Irish finding their form.

"At the start of the year they were bottom of the league and they now find themselves on the verge of securing a top-four finish, something that has eluded them for years, so he’s a big game player who has played his best rugby when it’s really mattered for Irish.”

Jacob Fordham, Business Development Executive at Gallagher, and club lead for London Irish said: "When watching Tom on the pitch it’s easy to forget that this is just his second season with London Irish, as the role he is playing in the team is outstanding, and he is a highly worthy winner of Gallagher Player of the Month for his performance in March. Given he is still at the start of his career he surely has fantastic opportunities ahead of him.”

Leicester Tigers duo Handre Pollard and Jasper Wiese were second and third in the poll this month.

Pearson made his Gallagher Premiership Rugby debut for Irish in October 2021 and in this campaign has weighed in with an impressive 219 tackles, 16 offloads, 459 metres gained, and 20 turnovers.

* Gallagher ran public polls while play was suspended to nominate a ‘Community Player of the Month’ in recognition of inspiring off-pitch performances made by players during lockdown to support their local communities and boost the morale of the wider rugby community.