The England U18s are embarking on an innovate new training camp this weekend, for the most promising front rowers and locks of the age group. From Friday to Sunday, England U18s Head Coach Jonathan Pendlebury will take the lead on this camp, to identify the most promising ‘tight five’ talents in England rugby.
Pendlebury will be joined by England U20s Assistant Coach Andy Titterrell. Who we spoke to earlier this week. (View the feature article here.)
As a former Sale Sharks, England and British & Irish Lions hooker, Titterrell discussed what he wanted to see from the promising front rowers. Pendlebury differs in his approach, as the former Gloucester lock and Wasps Academy Manager, highlighted what he wants to see from the second rowers in the scrums, carries, and line-outs across the weekend.
“So we’ve split the day’s up, as Andy (Titterrell) might have said. We’ve got a line-out day ‘flight club’, if you like, we’ve got a scrummaging day, ‘scrum club’. And then on the third and final day, we’ve got more principles based around attack versus defence. We’ve got a couple of good, young, emerging nines (scrum halves) that are coming in as well to facilitate that.”
“There’s line-out focus, scrum focus, but then also on the ball carrier specifically. how you can play to space, find space, play through space, or even around into space. Obviously, these guys end up doing a lot of ball carries, but (they are) different ball carriers to what centres and wingers looks like. Their ball carry and their support play looks very, very different, and these boys are making anything between 10, 12, 14, 16 to 20, rucks a game. So yeah, the continuity and the support play.”
“Just based on core principles that you’ve probably seen on Saturday mornings in schools, Sunday mornings, in clubs up and down the country, if you went into any clubhouse around the country. Yeah, go-forward, continuity, applying pressure and support. Just key principles of the game is exactly what we’re building our training sessions on. It’s not rocket science, we might try to work on a little bit of a specific (drill) that is important for us tactically, later on in the U18s and U20s.
“But these are key skills. that line-out forwards have to be able to jump. Because if you can’t jump in a line-out, you’re not effective in the line-up. You could be brilliant around the field in the ball carry, or your tackle, but then you’d go and play in a different position.
“If you can’t scrummage or throw like a hooker, you are certainly not going to be playing that position. So it’s then, ‘what other qualities have you got?’ Now we can’t just pick him because you’re an outstanding thrower, you have to offer something both sides of the ball, or certainly be exceptional on one side of the ball. Similarly is, you can’t just walk from scrum to scrum. You’ve got to add some value, in your attack and defence or you support play around the field.
“Specifically on the second rows, definitely how quick they can jump, how quickly can they get into positions to jump. It’s not just understanding what space looks like on the floor, what space looks like in the air. So, ‘is my advantage over you that I’m faster, is my advantage over you that I’m taller, is my advantage over you that I’ve got two taller lifters.’ So that’s how we will restart again and get that ball back in, and then go and score some tries!”
One player who has once again been the topic of conversation for the England Pathways coaching staff, is England U18s captain Kepu Tuipulotu. The hooker recently went viral after scoring a magnificent solo try against Ireland in the 2023 U18s Six Nations, and he was also discussed by Titterrell in Monday’s chat. Pendlebury was also asked his thoughts on the London Irish Academy star, but also added some insight upon Bath back-row Connor Treacey.
“We had Connor and Kepu, leaders as captains, out in those three games for the U18s in South Africa. Both have been involved in over 17 camps earlier in the season. Kepu had obviously been capped in the spring before we went out in August.
“They are coming in for a technical and tactical side of it, when they come into camp. But they’re also coming in, we’re asking them, (because) they are the better players in their positions in the country, they are showing higher potential than other players are in the country, at that moment in time. And that might change, somebody might jump over them, and overtake them. But we’re also bringing them in and then we’ll try and add an additional layer out on top of what they might be getting.
“We might be able to put a little bit more concentrated time on the leadership. Now that might be leadership as our captain for the day in a game, like Kepu and Connor were, or it might be that, ‘I’m going to be leading the attack, or I’m going to be leading the defence.”
Pendlebury believes that for a young player to flourish within rugby “the best ability is availability.” A classic example of this is England’s latest breakthrough hooker Theo Dan. The Saracen progressed through the England U20s, and battled to work his way through the StoneX shuffle at Saracens. England duty and occasional injuries to Dan’s mentor Jamie George presented Dan with the opportunity for more consistent Saracens caps, as he earned himself a spot on the bench for the latest Premiership Rugby Final.
Then on the grand stage at Twickenham, George suffered another untimely injury, which allowed Dan to enter the fray after just 11 minutes for a starring role. Fast forward some four months and Dan has scored his first England try, as he crossed over against Chile in the 71-0 demolition last weekend in the Rugby World Cup.
“Think that goes back to bits that we’re talking about in the middle of the conversation, perhaps the best ability is availability.” Pendlebury added. “So if (Jamie) George is injured, and Theo (Dan) is fit, or then added to that, he’s fit and well, and he’s training well. He offers attacking threats, he offers defensive capabilities, he offers scrummaging which is important to him as a hooker. That is a key skill that he is going to get picked on. These other bits are extras, but he is going to get picked on his line-out (too).
“But then he’s ready, he’s performing and he’s given the confidence to the coaching staff at Sarries or whatever club that is. Well, you wind it back. And then the interesting bit for me, is that it then goes back into where these guys developed those skills, which certainly comes from the junior club game, community again, (and) school game.
“So then what has Theo done to get there? What did he do at the time, did he get picked, did he not? What reflections has he had, what tough times was he had, what injuries has he had, that has then allowed him to improve himself to where he’s got now, if George picked up a knock he’s ready.”
Known as JP to his England Pathway colleagues, Pendlebury echoed the attitude which Andy Titterrell shared earlier this week; ‘every player is different’. For every academy break-through talent who sky-rockets to the top of their game, their is a hard-working grafter who has had to fight tooth and nail to get to where they are. There are no two identical journeys in modern day rugby, with three of England’s Rugby World Cup players being prime examples.
“It’s not luck necessarily. It is right place, right time, but he (Theo Dan) is fit and well. But yeah, when you wind it back again, you look into it, of where these players have come from and then what they’ve done. It might be that it’s pretty steep (trajectory) for a Henry (Arundell), but it might have been a little bit more up and down, for someone a little bit later.
“I don’t know Theo Dan too well at all. He’s come through different academies. He was in the (England) pathway at a different time to when I was involved and working with the RFU, but one player I can certainly talk about and knowing, is a young man since he was 16-years-old, is Jack Walker. Same position, (hooker) and Jack Walker is at his first World Cup.
“Henry Arundell is at his first World Cup at 20 (years old), he’s appeared for England at a really, really young age, to play for England at 19, he’s (now) playing at 20. Jack Walker was at his first World Cup at 27. But he’s gone through all that same England U16s, U17s , U18s, U19s, U20s, Junior World Championships. Playing in the Premiership and struggling, playing in the Premiership and injured, to playing the premiership fantastically well, (to) moving clubs, and then gets picked for England.
“So it’s interesting when looking back on the backstories. From when they play some of their Junior rugby, and then their school rugby, and their club rugby, to where they end up playing. Overseas? Championship, National League, it might be over the bridge (Wales and United Rugby Championship). It might be that they’ve had to come back and play University as well. So, I find it interesting anyway.”
It is not uncommon to see a Premiership prospect spend some time in the lower divisions of English rugby, to hone their craft and get the all-important first XV reps. As Pendlebury touched upon, the lower tiers of the English rugby pyramid frequently host the academy hopefuls, in order to gain valuable experience out on loan. Just as Ellis Genge endured a stint in National One with Plymouth Albion, Pendlebury explained how the front rowers and locks of tomorrow could go far wrong that to pick up lower league game time.
Embed from Getty Images“I think the first bit is, if you’re going to get better at anything, this is whether you write a news article, or you’re painter and decorator, or your a rugby player, you’ve got to be doing it. Do you know what I mean? So if you weren’t writing articles, you won’t be writing very good articles. If I’m not painting and decorating, my cutting in is going to be a bit rubbish. So if I’m not playing rugby, I’m not going to be very good.
“How it goes across the country, how everybody is different. Just because I’m the same position as you, or the same age and I’m from the same club, it has to still look different, because of what is going on inside of me physically, or going going on inside of me mentally, and cognitively to that point altogether.
“So if the English game can support these boys across the country in lower league levels, of National Two, Three, National One, there’s more regional (leagues), the BUCS University games. If it is Championship level, or then if it is a Premiership Cup match, it is huge. And these guys are ambitious, they all want to play, and just because you play in the National Three, doesn’t mean that you’re going to play there for the rest of your life either.
“It might be a stepping stone, it might also be that, ‘this is me, this is my level, and I found my level. I’ve found that I can’t progress to the higher level or that fits better with life. I’m going earn more money outside of rugby, I’m going to have happier more successful life outside of rugby, or it’ll be just playing social rugby. And that’s me, and that’s my ambition.’
“Some of the guys go National Three, National Two, National One, play up, play all levels as well. Just the same as the might play England U18s U19, U20s and then go and play at it with a senior cap. so I think it’s huge that where some (players) are ready for it and that’s clear, but it doesn’t mean just because you did your A Levels, your B-tecs last year, that you go straight in to play Premiership Rugby Cup in September. It might be that you’re making you’re Prem Cup debut at 22, 23. But (By then) you’ve done all your other apprenticeship, all you graft and your hard work.