Voyce – a wing who took flight with Wasps

The most recent picture posted to Tom Voyce’s Instagram page is a team shot from five weeks ago.

Some a little thinner on top, others a little thicker round the waist, it marked a 20-year reunion for the all-conquering Wasps team of 2003-04, who won a Premiership and European double.

Voyce, a 23-year-old wing in his first season at the club since arriving from Bath, started both finals and was a leading light in a team that contained Lawrence Dallaglio, Joe Worsley, Rob Howley, Josh Lewsey, Simon Shaw and Trevor Leota.

He was Wasps’ top try-scorer in the league and twice carved through Munster in a rollicking Heineken Cup semi-final to set up their first-ever shot at a continental prize.

It was the start of a glorious era for the Cornishman and his club.

By the time he departed Wasps five summers later, Voyce had won another two Premiership titles, repeated Heineken Cup success with a win over Leicester in 2007 and added an Anglo-Welsh Cup to his list of honours.

Voyce, a descendent of a 1920s England great of the same name, won his first England cap in 2001, but had fallen out of favour before his move to Wasps revitalised his international prospects.

He ended up making nine international appearances, scoring three tries en route, but was unable to permanently dislodge Iain Balshaw, Mark Cueto, Ben Cohen and team-mate Lewsey in the back three.

A poor performance in a 34-3 defeat by Australia in 2006 ultimately marked the end of his Test career.

He left Wasps in 2009 for a three-year stint at Gloucester, initially finding himself behind James Simpson-Daniel, Lesley Vainikolo and a youthful Charlie Sharples before stepping in to help power the club to the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2011, scoring in the final against Newcastle.

After being released by the Cherry and Whites, he endured a frustrating search for a club before signing on for a final farewell season with London Welsh.

Voyce retired in 2013 at the age of 32, having scored 66 tries in 220 top-flight games, to pursue a career in financial services

Future England fly-half Freddie Burns was emerging at Kingsholm during Voyce’s Gloucester stint.

“He was my gym partner in the very early days at Gloucester and taught me so much,” he wrote. “I will forever be grateful.”

Alex Brown, another former team-mate at the Cherry and Whites and now the CEO of Gloucester Rugby, added: “Tom was such a bright light in every room.

“His rugby talent was evident – he was part of a winning team for Gloucester and a very dominant Wasps outfit, and his talents were rightly recognised by England; an achievement I know he was immensely proud of.

“Personally, Voycey was a good friend. We toured together in Canada on the Churchill Cup and then continued our friendship when he joined Gloucester. We shared some memorable experiences both on and off the field together and I’m sure, like me, everyone associated with the club and the wider rugby community will be shocked and deeply saddened by his loss.”

Andy Goode, who featured alongside Voyce in the England backline, said: “He was a great bloke who I spent many fun times with.”

Former England scrum-half Matt Dawson, who played alongside Voyce at Wasps, described him as “one of life’s wonderful humans”.

“I can’t express my sadness right now,” Dawson added in an Instagram post featuring a horse emoji, a reference to Voyce’s nickname.

Former Wasps and England flanker James Haskell said Voyce was “a team-mate, a friend and an incredible player – someone I admired who always punched above his weight”.

World Cup winner Dallaglio, who captained Voyce and Wasps during that silverware-littered golden period, pleaded for privacy for his former team-mate’s family.

Dallaglio’s sister Francesca was among the 51 people who died in the 1989 Marchioness disaster when a boat carrying party-goers sank in the Thames.

“It’s the most horrific news and all I would say at this juncture is that please let us all respect Tom’s family and their suffering right now and keep them in all our thoughts,” Dallaglio wrote.

“It’s just such a tragedy. Sending all my love.”

England head coach Steve Borthwick said Voyce was “a wonderfully gifted rugby player and a truly lovely man”.

He added: “Tom left a lasting impact on everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him and created memories that will stay with all who watched him play.”