Tye Raymont spoke to Ruck to talk about all things England U20s; He also discussed his recent debut in the Premiership for Sale Sharks against Bath.
After having to play an unexpected 60 minutes in his first game following an early injury to WillGriff John, Sale’s young prop spoke about the pride of making the first of what he hopes to be many appearances in the league:
“So I got told the week before, on that Saturday, got called to say that I was going to be involved in the squad. So it's pretty exciting after that. And then went through the week, did all the training and stuff, and then got to the game. Like 20 minutes in 25 minutes in Griff (WillGriff John) just went down. So I didn't really have time, much time to think about what was going on, just get on the pitch. And it was pretty hard.”
When asked about the preparations done in that week, Raymont kept it pretty simple:
“Just nosing over my details, really, just making sure I got everything right. So for the game, I kind of didn't have to think I just had everything already there.”
After making his Premiership debut, he then played in the U20 Six Nations only four days later. This means that the young prop is better placed than most to compare the difference in quality between the two competitions.
He said: “Yeah, there's obviously a step up in terms of that speed and physicality. But I thought I really enjoyed it. I thought it was like a really good challenge. Now I'm just hungry for my opportunities.”
Another who has trodden a similar path to Raymont is fellow Sale prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour, who has seamlessly made the transition into men's rugby and is in the senior squad at Six Nations level.
Talking about the inspiration of having a player of that calibre around, Raymont spoke glowingly about his teammate:
“I think it's massive. I think seeing what he's done in the last year kind of gives you a motivation as well to think, there's a chance that kind of you can do it as well. He's gone and kind of set a path for that for a lot of young props to follow. And I think that's kind of been led by quite a few others as well.”
With northern rugby being on the rise, Raymont, originally from Leeds, spoke about why he believes this to be the case and the positive impact it can have on the England setup:
“ I would say there's a lot of talent in the north, but maybe due to maybe the clubs up there, they don't get the recognition. For example, Yorkshire Academy is an academy that does an amazing job. But how wide it's spread, the talent up there, it spreads all the way from Leeds to Hull. I'd say it's sort of pretty positive. Then, kind of being proud from the north as well, kind of showing they can do just, kind of just as good a job.
“I think the link between Sale and Yorkshire Academy have made a really good, , connection, and we both play some of the same types of rugby. It is really welcoming at Sale as well. Everyone there is so outgoing and friendly. And you know the motto, like, fabric of the North. It's where you're from.
Some northern attributes were spoken about in greater depth by the prop:
“Physicality, that hard-working mentality to actually just grit your teeth and get the work done, and then kind of do that ruthlessness as well, punishing teams.”
