Perse rugby player savours England training camp
Alex (Lower Sixth) relished the chance to rub shoulders with the country’s top young players after taking part in an England Rugby boys’ U17 development camp.
He was one of 57 players chosen for the training camp at Burton’s St George’s Park having been identified as a potential international of the future.
A member of Northampton Saints academy, Alex was thrilled when he was invited to attend the camp.
“I was really excited,” he said. “It’s something I’ve aimed for and wanted to be part of since I started playing rugby, so this was a foot in the door.”
Alex, who plays in the second row, began playing rugby with Shelford at the age of five before being picked up by Saints a few years ago after successful development team trials.
He has been training up a year with the Gallagher Premiership club’s U18 squad, but despite an ankle injury hampering him this season, Alex’s progression saw him catch the eye of selectors for the England U17 development squad.
However, while Alex loved taking part in the camp, he admitted it had been a useful eye-opener for what he needs to do to continue his ascent in the sport.
“It was quite unknown because I was injured for quite a while, I went without having had too much game time,” he said.
“I felt quite small because there were a lot of very big people there, so I thought ‘this is going to be tough’. We all came from different academies, but it was quite easy to fit in.
“We had medicals and then we started with a session where we went through rucks and lineouts using England terminology for calls on certain actions.
“In the afternoon, the session was focused on contact work and moving the ball. You were sore after the morning, but you were still expected to be at 100% from the off in the afternoon.
“The coaches demanded a lot from us, so everyone was pushing themselves totally all the time.”
Alex hopes to follow in the footsteps of Old Persean Alex Coles (2017), who turned professional with Northampton before going on to represent England at full international level.
He said: “He recently came and did a talk at the school (along with fellow OP sport stars Tess Howard and Zaman Akhter) and I spoke to him then. I’ve also messaged him about different things before and he has been very helpful with rugby.
“I think because I’m in the same situation as Alex Coles, going to The Perse and starting with Shelford, as well as playing in the same position rugby-wise, it’s really helpful to see someone else who has done. It’s my long-term ambition to get a contract at Northampton Saints and then pursue rugby to the highest level I can.”
More immediately, Alex hopes to be included in a four-day England U17 training camp at Hartpury College in May, from which a number of players could be selected for the England U18 squad’s summer tour of South Africa.