Back in January, when England’s Six Nations campaign was full of hope, Steve Borthwick made an unprompted comment about a group of teenagers in the English pathway.
The England head coach had recently returned from a trip to South Africa where he was struck by the depth of heavyweight players in the country.
‘What South Africa have done so well over such a long period of time is the number of players they have brought through,’ said Borthwick. ‘That’s an incredible credit to the South African rugby system.
‘Whilst our rugby system is different, I see a lot of talent coming through. When you look at the current England Under 18s, there is size in that pack. You know what is coming down the pathway.’
Borthwick rarely talks about players not in his squad, so it was particularly surprising to hear him mention a group still doing their A Levels.
Daily Mail Sport visited the Under 18s at their camp at Bisham Abbey where training included a 21-stone 16-year-old, a prop who used to run the 100metres, a 6ft 5in winger and Martin Johnson’s teenage son. Young flanker Harry Westlake, who went viral for belting out the national anthem as an England mascot alongside former captain Chris Robshaw back in 2014, is also part of the squad.
England Under 18s stars (from left to right): Lawrence Ogbonnaya, Charlie Bosanko, Harry Westlake, Henry Johnson, Charlie Bray, Junior Denny and Jeremy Keys at their base in Bisham Abbey
‘Being a versatile player is really important now,’ says Johnson, 17, and son of England’s World Cup winning captain, Martin. ‘The coaches want you to swap into different positions’
‘We have some big geese in this team,’ says 17-year-old skipper Charlie Bray, who plays across the back-row. ‘If you see some of the squat results and force outputs in the gym, the numbers are very high.
‘You have short-term, medium-term and long-term goals. A long-term goal is to get into those senior environments with England and your club. The likes of Henry Pollock and Noah Caluori have flown through it. It won’t go that quickly for some boys but it’s definitely a good blueprint for us.’
Many of the squad were part of a bruising tour to South Africa last year, where they played against junior Springboks who were almost two years older. They lost every match yet it provided an awakening for many of the players.
Take 20-stone tighthead prop Lawrence Ogbonnaya, who converted from the centres. ‘The South Africans were ridiculous,’ he tells Daily Mail Sport with a laugh. ‘I put my all into the first scrum and it collapsed. Their loosehead prop goes to me, “Is that all you’ve got big boy?”. I laughed it off but I was slightly scared inside at the time! I gave it everything and he was just mocking me. I’ve improved so much since then. I wish I could re-play the game.’
England’s senior scrum coach Tom Harrison has visited the youngsters to develop their set-piece skills. The Under 18s train the same techniques as the likes of Ellis Genge and Maro Itoje, engaging off one knee to breed consistency and familiarity through the ranks.
‘Tom came down for our first session at the end of September and he was extremely passionate about scrums,’ adds Ogbonnaya. ‘We had a meeting and he was out of breath talking about scrums. Bouncing around, on his toes, just giddy for scrums. I thought, “Wow”.
‘I used to play 12 and then I got converted to prop. Originally I didn’t really like scrums. I thought they were pointless, but now I enjoy them more. I still prefer carrying and tackling! You look at England props like Ellis Genge and Will Stuart and they can carry, use footwork, tackle but they’re dominant in the scrum as well.’
At age-group level, England’s coaches are trying to anticipate future law changes. They expect World Rugby to further lower the tackle height requirements so players are often allowed to only tackle at waist level and below. They are also encouraged to build positional flexibility as the game moves towards a generation of ‘hybrid’ players with versatility.
‘As a back-row or second row, I’m looking at Pieter-Steph du Toit as much as I can,’ says Henry Johnson, 17, the son of England’s 2003 World Cup winning captain. ‘Six and second row have become almost the same player. Then you see other back rows like Pollock and Ben Earl who could play in the backline.
England coaches try to anticipate future law changes and expect World Rugby to lower the tackle height, so the Under 18s often only tackle at waist level in training
‘I’m aiming to have ball-carrying as my superstrength to draw players into me and then to be able to pass out the back of that,’ says England Under 18s star Charlie Bosanko
‘Being that versatile player is really important now. It’s all coming together more. The coaches want you to swap into different positions. I want to be able to cover six, seven, eight and the second row. You want to be a lineout threat and a carry threat.’
Johnson played football during his early secondary school years but could now follow in his father’s footsteps. Asked about maintaining his family’s proud rugby history, Johnson adds: ‘There’s some pressure behind it, but you’ve got to be your own player. My dad always says working hard is the key thing.
‘Obviously he was really hard-working so I take those parts. It was a different time and a completely different game (when he was playing). After games, we’re always talking. He’s always telling me little things I could have done better, where I could have been working harder. My end goal is to have a professional career with Leicester but now it’s just little steps.’
Some of the forwards are eating up to 5,000 calories per day to fuel their physical development. Lock Jeremy Keys is 6ft 9in and 21st 4lb at the age of 16 and has been moved up an age group to boost his development.
‘Nutrition is quite a big area for me at the moment,’ explains Keys. ‘It’s very expensive getting enough food and enough nutritional values! I want to gain more weight and lose some of the excess fat. I lose count of how many chicken breasts my mum buys – three or four a day.
‘At the moment, I’m trying to just maximise my strength and fitness. I’m trying to keep up my max speed across a whole game. A lot of sprint and fitness work, looking at my running technique and top-end sprints. Back at Exeter, my focus is on how hard I can hit.’
It is not just the forwards who are blessed with size. England have lacked punch in their midfield for years yet centre Charlie Bosanko, at 16st, already weighs more than his Exeter Chiefs idol Henry Slade.
‘South Africa have got players like Andre Esterhuizen who are 110kg (17st 4lb),’ he says. ‘Having that as a superstrength alongside your distribution can make you a really effective player. I’m aiming to have ball-carrying as my superstrength to draw players into me and being able to pass out the back of that.’
Johnson carries the ball into the tackle in training. ‘My end goal is to have a professional career with Leicester but now it’s just little steps,’ he says
‘After games, we’re always talking,’ Henry Johnson says of his dad Martin (pictured). ‘He’s always telling me little things I could have done better, where I could have been working harder’
There are standardised contracts in place for academy players but many of England’s young giants are already attracting interest from agents. Junior Denny, the 6ft 5in winger, is among the team’s brightest talents and is targeting a call-up for the 2031 World Cup.
‘Goals are important to me,’ says Denny. ‘I’ve hit around 9.7 metres per second with my running and my aim is to get to 10. Players like Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Louis Rees-Zammit and Henry Arundell are probably around 10 and that’s what I want to hit.
‘I always looked up to Anthony Watson when I was younger because of his ability. Israel Folau, too, and how he went after the high ball. I try to make that my superstrength.
‘With England, the pathway is all quite closely linked. Seeing the way the senior team play, the aerial skills the back three need are so key. I look at their high-ball skills and think, “How can I get like that?”.
‘I want to do it all as quickly as I can. I want to play for the Under 20s as soon as I can and play for the men’s team. You see with boys like Noah how quickly it can go. I speak to my dad about the 2031 World Cup in America. I 100 per cent want to go to that one.’
Cause for English cheer has been in short supply throughout the senior Six Nations campaign. But there is plenty of talent coming through the junior ranks that may bring cheer in the future.