FROM WRECK TO ROCK
Luke’s got over nerves and feels at home with England
FROM bag of nerves to England’s joint-top tryscorer at the World Cup is some transformation for Luke Cowan-Dickie.
In May the Exeter hooker revealed how anxiety was holding him back – how he had been in the England squad for four years, had picked up 11 caps and had yet to be trusted with his full debut.
Four months on and he is unrecognisable. Cowan-Dickie has scored tries in each of England’s two games in Japan, making it four in his last six Tests.
He cannot quite believe it himself but after so long waiting in the shadows, he is grabbing his chance with both hands.
“It comes down to time spent around the team and time in the shirt,” he said. “I’ve been given an opportunity and, as you’ve seen, it’s going quite well for me.”
His rise is a victory for England’s culture, which they have worked hard to foster out of the glare of the floodlights.
It was revealed that the 31-man squad had printed T-shirts bearing ‘The Team of 31’ on the front and the name of every player on the back.
Attack coach Scott Wisemantel said: “Togetherness is one of our themes and the players acknowledge it and openly talk about it. It’s a team of 31. Socially they hang out, and then when they’re on the field they compete hard.
“That’s what we want, that competition, so that whether they’re in the 23 or not they’re competing for places. They’re not just passengers.”
That is music to the ears of Cowan-Dickie. Once marginalised, at least in his own perception, he now finds himself at the hub of everything.
“In this group I feel comfortable,” he said. “Maybe previously I didn’t feel so much involved, maybe because I was on the fringes. I feel more part
of a team now.We all get on so well. It’s not a club environment but it feels very close to one.” World Cups are won by entire squads rather than first XVs, the example being New Zealand in 2011 relying on fourth-choice fly-half Stephen Donald. England are a long way off such a showpiece but the omens are encouraging, with an almost total absence of injuries.
Now it starts to get harder, of course. Argentina, with top-four finishes in two of the last threeWorld Cups, are next for England, followed by France.
Wisemantel said: “To use a Tour de France analogy, we’ve had the sprints and now we’re at the foothills of the mountains. But we’re ready to go.”