Counties enjoy a clean sweep
JAMES Shanahan has hailed the recent England Counties tour to Romania as probably his best yet in five years as head coach.
The flagship team of community rugby in England, featuring players from levels three to five, recorded back-to-back wins against Romania A (31-20 and 40-5), following a 41-17 victory over club side CSM Bucharest 41-17 in their opening match.
“I was a bit apprehensive because we had 23 new caps and didn’t have much time to prepare and gel,” said the former fly-half. “And we were going to Romania where it is very physical, and the weather was 30-odd degrees. But the tour went outstandingly well and so many players stepped up.
“It is probably the best tour I’ve been on, on and off the field. We gelled very quickly and played some great rugby and all three games were tough, even though we won two quite comprehensively.”
Shanahan added: “We have used over 100 players now from National League rugby, representing 15 different counties and over 50 clubs. It shows that selection is open to everyone who has played in the County Championship and also the depth that exists below the elite game.”
Kent and Blackheath speedster Jake Lloyd, who is coached at club level by Shanahan, was voted Englad’s standout back of the tour while Sale FC’s Adam Hughes got the forwards’ award.
Ever-present for Blackheath in 2017/18, Lloyd says the Counties was the perfect way to round off the season.
“Any chance you get to represent your country is hugely important. I came off the back of a 30-game club season plus two games for Kent so have played a lot of rugby. But I’ve stayed injury free and relatively fresh for the tour.
“The body is pretty tired, but I think an opportunity like this revamps you mentally. A few of the boys at Blackheath have played for Counties before and they all had nothing but good things to say about it.
“I went to watch England Counties against France at the Rectory Field in 2016 and I was itching to be on the pitch so when the offer came up I took it. It was a goal for me to be invited. It was a proud moment for me putting the shirt on.” Lloyd continued: “The rugby was tough physically. Personally I wasn’t too sure what to expect in terms of the standard in Romania but the first
few minutes of the game you could tell they were a very physical team. The scores probably don’t do them justice as they definitely felt like tight contests.”
For Shanahan, the unbeaten tour came on the back of leading Blackheath to a fourth-place finish in National One in his first season in charge at The Rectory Field as well as steering Cambridge University to back-to-back Bowring Bowl triumphs.
Like some of the players in the Counties set-up, Shanahan aspires to operate at a higher level, but opportunities have been few and far between despite his impressive CV.
“With so many overseas coaches in the game and Premiership players being given jobs as soon as they retire, it makes it a struggle to get opportunities in the elite game even though I am an RFU Level 4 coach,” he said.
“I enjoy what I am doing with Blackheath, Cambridge and the Counties, it is great to work with players outside of the elite and try and get the best out of them. Doing the Counties is one of the highlights of my career.”