Mercer determined to state his case in defence
AMBITIOUS Zach Mercer believes he could have no better role model than Wales and Lions star Toby Faletau as he bids to follow former U20s colleagues Nick Isiekwe, Tom Curry and Jack Maunder into England’s senior squad.
Back rower Mercer enjoyed a stellar 2016-17 campaign, becoming a fixture in Bath’s line-up before being named the RPA’s young player-of-the-year and then captaining England U20s to the final of the Junior World Cup.
He now wants to build on those achievements and is delighted to be doing it alongside Faletau and fellow England hopeful, Sam Underhill, as Todd Blackadder’s Bath set their sights on Premiership and Champions Cup glory.
Mercer said: “I look back on last season with a lot of pride. I was lucky with Toby and David Denton getting injured in the first game, but I had to take that opportunity and I did.
“Winning the RPA award was massive as well. Some of the boys give me stick about keeping my feet on the ground, but that’s fair enough because I’ve achieved nothing yet.
“I’m still only 20 so there’s a long way to go, but I’m excited about what could happen in the years ahead. I know what I can achieve but I also know it’s only going to come through hard work – and Toby is a fantastic example of that.”
Mercer added: “You look at what Toby’s achieved as a British Lion, one of the best players out there, but he’s still one of the most humble guys you can meet. That’s exactly how I want to be and despite his success, he’s just an ordinary guy.
“He’s a really good mentor and role model for me and I’m really excited to be part of a back row with him and Sam Underhill. Sam helps a lot as well and with his experience of being with England now, he has a very cool head.”
Mercer, right, might have gone to Argentina himself this summer, but concedes there are aspects of his game that still need work.
He explained: “When Tabai Matson was at Bath he worked really hard on my defence. People perceive me as just being an attacking player but I don’t want that; I want to be an allround player and over the last couple of weeks I’ve maybe shown a different side to my game that people haven’t seen before.
“Against Wasps and Worcester I upped my work-rate and defence. I’m making my tackles and the dominant tackles will come eventually once I get bigger and mature. “I’m enjoying my time at Bath and if I can keep working on my body height, work-rate and positioning, hopefully there’s a lot more to come and I can start pushing myself into the reckoning for that England squad.” Despite not touring Argentina, Mercer added: “I was disappointed, but the upside was getting to captain the U20s in Georgia and getting to the final. It was my last year at U20s level so that experience was vital.
“A lot of boys are pushing on to senior level and my time will come. But it’s not just there for me to take, I’ve got to keep developing the parts of my game Eddie Jones and the Bath coaches want me to work on.
“Credit to guys like Nick Isiekwe, Tom Curry and Jack Maunder, even if you only get ten seconds as an England player it’s a massive honour and something you dream of. The boys have achieved that and now I’m looking to turn heads.”