Kyran and Charlie Bracken, father and son, are looking through old photographs around the dining table at their home in High Barnet, north London. Coffee is served and the pair are venturing down memory lane.
‘Mum was pregnant with me when they went to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen after England won the World Cup,’ explains Charlie, the 22-year-old Saracens star, a scrum-half just like his dad.
‘That was a great day,’ adds Kyran, 54, who was in Sir Clive Woodward’s squad that conquered in the world in 2003. ‘Victoria was due so I was asking, “Should we still do the parade?”
‘We got on that bus and there was no one around. We drove for five minutes and there was no one there. We were all laughing about it. We got to Oxford Street where there were a few hundred, and then there were a few thousand, and it was amazing. It was a bit like what we saw with Arsenal on Sunday.
‘We had been drinking since 9am and then went to Downing Street to meet Gordon Brown. In 1966, the guys didn’t get taxed on their World Cup winnings. A few of the boys were trying to sweet talk Gordon Brown into not taxing us on our bonus but he was having none of it because he’s a tight Scotsman!
‘Then we got to Buckingham Palace and everyone was trying to steal stuff. I nicked a plate! The door opened and six corgis came in, then a minute later this tiny, beautiful woman walked in wearing this lovely blue dress. Martin Johnson, 6ft 9in, walked over and bent down almost 90 degrees, and he stayed bent down as he introduced her to everyone. It was a very funny sight.’
Kyran and Charlie Bracken at home in High Barnet, north London. Charlie is following in his father’s footsteps as a scrum-half at Saracens
Kyran (pictured right with Richard Hill) won 51 caps for England and was part of the 2003 World Cup-winning side
Now Charlie, 22, is looking to make a name for himself at Saracens as they hunt a play-off place in Prem Rugby this season
Upstairs, the loft is full of old jerseys from Kyran’s 51-Test career. A reminder of the days when he went toe-to-toe with the likes of Rob Howley and Joost van der Westhuizen. There are plenty of stories for the after-dinner circuit but nowadays people are showing more interest in his three sons.
Outside, the garden is full of rugby balls that have been blasted into an old cricket net. Jack, 20, and Lochlan, 17 are also in the Saracens setup, but Charlie is the first one to establish himself in the senior ranks. All three are following in their father’s footsteps.
‘I remember going on the pitch at Watford (Saracens’ old ground) with some of my cousins but the memories of watching Dad are pretty vague,’ explains Charlie. ‘There are quite a few of his old Sarries games on YouTube that I’ve watched. He loved a dive pass but you don’t see too many of them now. The rucks have changed a bit!
‘We have some old videos that we recorded down in the park. All three of us played scrum-half at the time so we would go down to the park in Sarries shirts and pass balls. Dad had this app called Coach’s Eye where you record the passes, slow them down and analyse everything. I look at some of my passes now and think “How have I made it as a professional rugby player?!”’
Charlie’s dedication to his craft has always been encouraged by his father, who would feed back on technical passing elements such as pick-up and follow through. Their mother, Victoria, is a personal trainer, and they built a home gym to help with extra training. A sauna and ice plunge pool have also been installed in the garden to help with recovery.
Kyran recalls a conversation from a few years ago. ‘Charlie said to me, “Dad, what did you bench press when you were my age?”’ he says. ‘He told me he bench-pressed 120 or 130kg, and I told him I didn’t go to the gym until I was 28. He couldn’t believe it. We went pro in 1996-97 (when Bracken Snr was 24). Half the team – myself, Michael Lynagh, Tim Horan – were full-time and the other half were still at work. When we went to the gym, we would get on the treadmill and go in the sauna.
‘When I was doing my law finals, there was a tour to South Africa but I didn’t go because I had exams. Charlie was like, “You missed out on playing for England to do exams?” I was like, “Charlie, this was a different era”. But what was exactly the same was the pressure you’re under to perform, the team bonds.
‘I’ve seen the hardship behind the scenes, the injuries, the rollockings from coaches, getting dropped. The downsides when they’ve been losing games and success they’ve had recently is exactly what I went through.
Kyran (left) with Charlie (right) and middle brother Jack (centre). The boys, along with 17-year-old Lochlan, are all in the Saracens system
The Brackens – (L-R) Charlie, Victoria, Jack and Kyran – back in 2006
Kyran on the charge in a 26-all draw against the All Blacks in 1997 at Twickenham
‘The basics of the game are the same. When I started out, rugby was a game of evasion. Now it’s a game of power and evasion. In my day, speed of pass was the No 1 thing. My priority was always for Charlie to be able to pass quickly and he’s passing like I did at the age of 22. But you can’t just be a good passer.
‘On the other side of it there’s game management, tap and goes at the right time. Guys like Alex Mitchell and Jack van Poortvliet have played the game for years so they have the trust and confidence to go “OK, I’ll try this”. That all has to come for Charlie and he will find its rhythm when the time is right.’
A run of five straight wins has earned Saracens a final-round shootout with Exeter to reach the Prem Rugby play-offs. Charlie has started in all five victories – alongside Noah Caluori, Fergus Burke and Olly Hartley – as the next generation of talent breaks through at the StoneX Stadium.
They will fall under Brendan Venter’s wing next season, but their immediate goal is to ensure director of rugby Mark McCall goes out on a high when he leaves the club after 17 years.
‘In terms of Mark leaving, a lot of the boys want to do it for him,’ says Charlie. ‘He’s been such a big part of the club. Jamie George mentioned it before the Quins game. Mark doesn’t love the attention but everyone knows it’s there and part of what we’re fighting for is to send him off well. Hopefully he has a few more weeks left yet.’
Charlie’s form recently earned him a call-up to England’s training squad, although Van Poortvliet, Mitchell and Ben Spencer remain Steve Borthwick’s senior No 9s.
‘I got a phone call from Steve to go in and I was chuffed,’ says Charlie. ‘I shared a room with Archie McParland. He was in the year below me and we played together when I made my England Under 18s debut. It was cool to go in there and see all the players you look up to.’
These days, Kyran coaches part-time at St Albans School, alongside his work in events and property management. Conversation briefly turns to his ice skating career. His profile rocketed when he won Dancing On Ice following his rugby retirement. ‘That was fun while it lasted!’ he says. ‘I did well and enjoyed it but I focus on other stuff now. Charlie was a good ice skater.’
Kyran winning series two of Dancing On Ice with Melanie Lambert in 2007 – which certainly boosted his profile
Charlie was invited into England camp this year – ‘it was cool to go in there and see all the players you look up to’
‘I never won the Premiership as a player so I would love to see one of my kids do it,’ says Kyran. ‘That would be really cool’
Sipping his coffee, Charlie laughs: ‘Everyone would come up asking for autographs saying, “Oh, you’re the ice skater!” I could do a couple of spins. We used to go down to Ally Pally. We went to watch the darts there, which felt like a weird throwback to going ice skating.
‘I remember trying to do a backflip on the ice and cracking my head open, so that was the end of those days. We enjoyed ice skating but I was definitely more into the rugby!’
After their time reminiscing, the pair step into the garden and throw a few passes for the camera. Kyran sets targets for Charlie to hit. ‘Left shoulder!’ ‘Right shoulder!’
‘Saracens weren’t majorly successful when I was playing,’ says Kyran. ‘We won a Tetley’s Bitter Cup and came second in the league in 1997-98. It was tough because we’d sign amazing players from around the world but it was hard to get the right balance.
‘Watching Saracens do really well under Mark has been wonderful. I never won the Premiership as a player so I would love to see one of my kids do it. That would be really cool.’