KYLE SINCKLER
If you’re in an Eddie Jones environment and you’re just happy to be there then you’re in trouble. You’ll be out the door straight away. The mindset for me has always been that I want to be the best player in my position.
a resurgent winter and Six Nations campaign. The loosehead took a selfimposed break from international rugby last summer, stating that he was not in the right frame of mind to pull on the England jersey.
After working his way back into Jones’ England XV, Marler i s savouring the chance to face the All Blacks with Sinckler.
Marler said: “It’s nice isn’t it? Two props from the same club. We get on all right. He’s constantly, ‘ Are you coming in early tomorrow, mate? Doing an extra session?’ Because I like to train on my own sometimes, and he got wind that I was training extra separate sessions and he was like, ‘ Do you mind if I join you?’ ‘ Yeah, go on then’.
“Then he puts his music on and I’m like ‘ no’. If you’re joining my sessions we’re li stening to Paul Simon. So no, I’m really pleased for him. And hopefully he can go down there and show four nations the strengths that he can bring to a game.”
Quins director of rugby John Kingston also endorsed Sinckler, saying: “I’ve got a soft spot for him because I find him pretty straightforward. He says what he thinks, and a lot of people hold that in. He struggles sometimes to control or contain that emotion. He i s a very emotional individual. But I like that.”
Marler and Kingston however, were keen to remind Sinckler of the hard yards that lie ahead. “I don’t give him too much. I keep him [ at] arm’s length,” said a smiling Marler. “Because he’s still a young pup, and he’s still got to work his way up the ladder at club level. You’ve got to do some grafting years at your club.”
Kingston added: “We all know that he i s an incredibly powerful ballcarrier, an incredibly powerful man in a lot of what he does.
“He’s in a very formative stage still in his bread and butter, his set- piece work, which is possibly why he hasn’t yet started for England. So they obviously see him as someone who can be hugely impactive in that power game. And looking at the rest of the selections it tends to lead you to think that’s what they’re looking for.”
“It’s a gradual process, I can understand it looks like a meteoric rise into the Lions squad. But at the moment, is he guaranteed to start for Harlequins? No. He knows he is still under considerable pressure.”