Our best academy yet says Exiles coach Paul
JOHNNY Williams has “huge potential” and is a talisman of a London Irish academy that is back to its best, according to Exiles assistant coach Paul Hodgson.
Midfield maestro Williams was the shining light in an otherwise dismal season for Irish, who now face a year in the Championship following relegation.
However, the 19-year-old will spearhead a revival with other home-grown talents such as Theo Brophy Clews, right, Connor Murphy, Gerard Ellis and Richard Palframan.
Hodgson, above right, told The Rugby Paper: “It’s pretty much unheard of for boys like Johnny and Theo to come straight out of school and have so much influence on the first team.
“But it was great to see Johnny finish off his season in such a positive way with England U20s and he was excellent all year in a difficult Premiership season.
“Theo was a big part of that as well and our trust in these boys has been vindicated. We’re fostering that real emotion of playing for London Irish among them and I believe we’ve got the best crop of academy boys that’s ever come through.
“That’s a big statement when you think of Anthony Watson, Marland Yarde, Jonathan Joseph and Alex Corbisiero, but I genuinely believe that.”
Hodgson revealed that Williams will add a kicking string to his bow as he seeks to become a more rounded player to enhance his England prospects.
He explained: “So far we’ve focussed on Johnny’s fundamentals – catch, pass, reading the game in attack and defence – but he’s a very good kicker of the ball as well and he’s been practising his goal-kicking because it’s a real passion of his.
“What people see is a ball-carrying, offloading No.12, but we’ve also seen how well he can do as a distributor and tackler. The guy’s got an all-round game and if we can add goal-kicking to that as well, his potential is going to be huge.”
Hodgson felt the pain of relegation but, as the club’s newly promoted skills coach, he insists no stone will being left unturned in kick-starting a revival.
The former England scrum-half said: “I don’t want to dwell on the past but guys like myself, Declan Danaher and Nick Kennedy played over 750 games for this club between us, so of course relegation hurt.
“There’s been mourning, anger and sadness, but it’s about getting out on the training pitch now and putting wrongs to right. We’ve put in some really good work and there’s only been positivity since we came back.”
Of the Championship campaign ahead, Hodgson adds: “It’s a tough league but hopefully we’ll hit the ground running. A huge amount of detail has gone into our planning, including adaptability, so we’ll be ready for every challenge.”