Mathew James Murray Tait (born 6 February 1986)[1] is a retired English rugby union player who gained 38 caps for England between 2005–2010, including starting in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final; and played 279 club games for Newcastle Falcons, Sale Sharks and Leicester Tigers between 2004 and 2018.

[3][4] In May 2004 he made his debut in an English Premiership game against London Irish and scored a try with his first touch of the ball.

However, as the season continued and entered its latter stages, Tait began to play at his preferred position of outside centre and put in performances that ensured he was selected for England again.

Complications during knee surgery meant he was unable to play for Sale until late October, and he missed much of November when the problem flared up again.

In January Tait suffered a dislocated shoulder during an Amlin Cup match against Cetransa El Salvador; the injury threatened to rule him out of the rest of the season and forced him out of the England Saxons squad.

Tait failed to make an impact either in attack or defence and was the victim of two tackles from Gavin Henson before eventually being replaced.

Others have said he is "the exemplar of the coming generation"[8] and that he "came of age in the final"[9] In the 2008 Six Nations Championship he scored a try in England's 33–10 win over Ireland.

After an injury-ridden start to the 2008–09 Guinness Premiership season, Tait began to play at his preferred position of outside centre and put in performances that ensured he was selected for England for the tests against Argentina and Barbarians.