Sinckler keeps up with the Joneses
COACHES EDDIE AND ADAM GET HIM FIRING
AS Kyle Sinckler gears up for the games of his life, the England prop has had fresh cause to thank Eddie Jones for his ability to spot a precious gem among the rough diamonds.
The 26- year- old Harlequins tighthead has gone from being a club wannabe to a Test Lion and his country’s pre-eminent No 3. But he also recognises the help he has had from another Jones, his club coach Adam.
Sinckler believes that the national coach spotted his raw potential and backed him to fulfil it, despite a lack of evidence, and others in the squad have benefited from the same talent-spotting instinct.
‘Eddie can find a diamond in the rough,’ he said. ‘It just takes that one person to believe in you and give you a chance. I’m just grateful I got that opportunity.’
Sinckler’s gratitude was evident as he spoke about the rapid progress he has made, since being made to realise that he might squander his ability. This engaging character offered a frank assessment of how much he has changed to reach the heights.
‘It’s been one hell of a journey from when I couldn’t even get a game for Quins,’ he said. ‘I was always on the bench. I didn’t realise how much hard work it would require.
‘I was lucky that Adam Jones came to the club. He gave me a little kick up the backside and then Eddie gave me a chance.’
His England breakthrough came when he was selected to tour Australia in 2016. He was not a regular in the Harlequins team but Eddie Jones decided he was worth taking a punt on.
Sinckler said: ‘He gave me a taste and I thought, “I need to step my game up.” I didn’t play but I got a taste of the training, the nutrition and little things like the importance of sleep.
‘Looking back, it was probably the best thing that happened to me because, if I’m being honest, I don’t think I was ready. I had a lot of improvements to make. I only took a couple of weeks off after that season, then I worked hard, lost a lot of weight, focused on my scrum and did everything I possibly could to try to be selected. It all kind of fell into place.’
Eddie Jones made it clear to Sinckler that he could not hope to become England’s preeminent tighthead unless he improved his scrummaging, so Welshman Adam Jones helped him make strides in that area.
This week, Sinckler and the England forwards will be bracing themselves for a showdown with the fabled Argentina pack. Although the Pumas’ scrum is not the weapon of old, they are still regarded as a formidable unit who will present a major challenge in Tokyo on Saturday. But England cannot wait to unleash their ‘tank’ again, after it rumbled over the USA on Thursday. That is Sinckler’s way of describing the pack which has demonstrated potency in the setpiece and effective use of the rolling maul as a try-scoring asset.
‘You must look after your scrum, your maul, your ruck, especially against these guys because they have a massive pack,’ said Sinckler. ‘We put a lot of emphasis on it and it gets our game going when our “tank” gets going.’
Argentina have been warned: there’s some heavy English armour heading their way.