"Not born in England" - Five things you didn’t know about Henry Arundell
Rugby NewsSunday, 03 July 2022 at 14:09
There has been a lot of hype around Henry Arundell over the past few months given the wonder tries that he has scored for London Irish – and he lived up to the billing when making his England debut.
The 19-year-old's performances for the Exiles this season saw him named as Premiership Rugby's young player of the season for 2021-22
During the last week alone he has been compared to Matt Giteau. Bryan Habana, David Campese and Jason Robinson.
Here are five things you might not know about England's newest wonderkid.
#1. Birthplace
Coming from a military family, Arundell was born overseas in Cyprus at a British navy base. Prior to making his England debut, the speedster was eligible for England, Scotland, Wales and Cyprus.
At first, he had a lot of trouble with his family because they wanted him to join the armed forced. However, when his family saw how good he was, they changed his plans.
#2. Jason Robinson is a big fan
'If he (Arundell) is going to be producing moments like that then you have to give him a chance to see what he's capable of doing at the next level,' Robinson, now 47, told Sportsmail.
'I know there is a bit of a fight on now in terms of who he commits to. You wouldn't want someone like that slipping through the net.
'I hope he gets an opportunity and if England don't tie him down then there will be a big queue of people waiting.
'It's not very often I watch a game and get really excited, but I have to admit that's the most excited I've been for a long time.
'Seeing a try like that is very special and I'm sure we'll be seeing replays for a long time to come.'
#3. England's youngest fulback
He became England's youngest ever fullback when he made his debut against the Wallabies. Check out England's youngest ever XV here.
#4. From biggest fan to beating his man
In just a few years, the speedster went from posing for photos with Maro Itoje to running straight past him
#5. He can kick too
The fullback has made a name for himself with the ball in hand, but as this footage shows from U15's Arundell has a hell of a boot on him too.
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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