Martin Edward Corry MBE (born 12 October 1973) is a retired English rugby union player who represented and captained England and Leicester Tigers in a career spanning 14 seasons.
Corry attended the University of Northumbria, impressing for their rugby team,[3] before being named as a reserve for a Courage League game for Newcastle Gosforth against Bath.
[7] Following Newcastle's failure to gain promotion in the 1994–95 Courage League National Division Two season Corry was one of a number of leading players who moved on, in his case joining Bristol.
In February 1997 he was named as part of a 62 man long-list for the 1997 British Lions tour to South Africa, one of three uncapped players at that stage,[9] but was not in the final squad, instead he made his England debut in May 1997 against Argentina.
[11] Corry made his Leicester debut on 30 August 1997 against Gloucester at Welford Road,[2] and despite being sent off in a 15 all draw against Northampton Saints played 27 times across number 8, flanker and lock in his first season.
[13][14] After selection for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, Corry returned to Leicester on 30 October 1999 scoring a try against Bedford Blues in a 61–12 win.
[15] 2000–01 season saw Corry again be a regular member of Leicester pack, switching between flanker and number 8 with Will Johnson, he played 30 times as Tigers retained the Premiership Rugby title for a third straight year.
Corry missed much of the first half of the 2001–02 season with injury and international call ups but returned in December to be an ever-present until Leicester secured their fourth straight Premiership Rugby title on 13 April 2002 against Newcastle Falcons at Welford Road.
[19] Corry started the 2002 Heineken Cup Final where Leicester beat Munster, they were the first side to retain the European trophy.
[20] Corry confirmed his selection for Clive Woodward's Rugby World Cup squad in a highly competitive back row area with a strong late run in England's warm-up matches: he performed well in the 43–9 defeat of Wales at the Millennium Stadium in late Summer of 2003 and then again in the September defeat of France at Twickenham.
[23] Following his selection on the 2005 Lions tour Corry returned ahead of schedule to captain the club in the first match of the season, playing 48 minutes in a 32–0 win over Northampton.
Corry played 24 times for Leicester that season as they reached a European quarter-final, and an Anglo-Welsh semi-final, before losing to the Sale Sharks in the 2006 Premiership final.
Tigers gained some revenge for that loss in the opening game of the 2006-07 Premiership Rugby season, Corry particularly impressing and scoring in a 35–23 win against Sale.
In his first squad selection as England coach, Ashton named Corry in the starting line-up for the 2007 Six Nations opener against Scotland, though he was replaced as captain by Phil Vickery.
[28] Corry won his fifth Premiership medal, starting the final and scoring a try as Leicester defeated Gloucester to secure the domestic double.
The following year, Corry reportedly turned down Ashton's offer of a place in the England's squad for the opening fixture of their 2008 Six Nations campaign, instead announcing his retirement from international rugby at the age of 34.