EllisGenge

Ellis Genge has taken a road less travelled to make his first British & Irish Lions Tour.

The straight-talking, hard-hitting prop grew up in Knowle West, Bristol – he has the 10 letters of his home district tattooed on his toes – and credits rugby with ‘saving’ him from ‘throwing my life away’.

His talent has never been in doubt. Genge played as a No.8 in his teens, excelling there while captaining Hartpury College, and was initially reluctant to move to the front row.

But the offer of a two-year contract from Bristol Bears as a prop – as opposed to a single year if he stayed in the back row – was enough to twist his arm and it is fair to say he has not looked back.

Genge fled the Bristol nest in 2016, joining Leicester Tigers, and an England debut soon followed.

He was part of the squad which reached the World Cup final in 2019 and truly began to cement his place from the following year, which he began by scoring a pivotal try in a Calcutta Cup success at Murrayfield.

Genge was a key cog in the England side who won a three-match series 2-1 in Australia in 2022 and he now returns to face the Wallabies as a Lion.

He does so buoyed by a starring role in the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, when he started all five matches and illustrated why he is one of the world’s best in his position.

Off the field, Genge is keen to provide others from similar backgrounds with opportunities to follow in his footsteps.

He is the founder of The Genge Fund, set up to ‘level the playing field for Bristol’s youth’, and is an ambassador for the Bristol Bears Foundation.

Earlier this year, he also opened up about his dyspraxia diagnosis, which arrived when he was 14, and spoke of a hope to inspire others to get tested.

"I enjoy when people are seeking help, and I can help people,” he said. “If kids are thinking, 'well if Ellis Genge did it, then I can do it too', that fills me with joy.”