Introduction
Thomas "Tom" Cusack (born 1 March 1993) is an Australian professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for theBrumbies in Super Rugby. He is currently captain of the Canberra Vikings team in Australia's National Rugby Championship, and previously represented Australia in rugby sevens.
Early life
Tom Cusack was born in Canberra, ACT to an Australian father and Italian mother, and holds a dual Australian-Italian citizenship. He attended Marist College Canberra for his high school years, graduating in 2011. A former member of the ARU National Gold Squad, the ARU’s national Rugby development program for high school students, he showed a talent for rugby at an early age. Cusack was selected for Australia Schoolboys rugby team in 2010. He subsequently began studies toward a Sports Coaching and Exercise Science degree at University of Canberra before switching to a Bachelor of Business Management.
Rugby career
Cusack joined the Canberra Royals for his rugby at club level. He was a member of the ARU's National Academy and played for Australia Under-20 at the 2012 Junior World Championships.
Australian Sevens
In February 2013, Cusack was brought into the Australian Sevens squad. He made his debut for Australia at the Wellington Sevens tournament and quickly established himself as an asset with ball in hand. Cusack represented Australia in the 2013 Rugby Sevens World Cup, scoring two tries, and was a squad member at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland. By December 2015, he had thirteen national caps in rugby sevens. He had a wrist ligament reconstruction surgery in early 2016, but recovered in time to compete for Australia at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
NRC and Super Rugby
Cusack played for the Canberra Vikings in the inaugural National Rugby Championship (NRC) in 2014, scoring a try against the Rams in his only appearance for the season. In 2016 he turned out for NSW Country, playing in seven matches for the minor premiership-winning team, including the grand final loss to Perth in Tamworth.
He made his Super Rugby debut for the Brumbies against Melbourne in April 2017, and was named captain of the Canberra Vikings team for the 2017 NRC season.