Howard tries life as an OEs City boy after Sixways exit
FORMER England U20s full-back Ben Howard is relishing the chance to rebuild his career with ambitious Old Elthamians after a “rubbish year” at Worcester.
Howard, a member of the first England side to win the Junior World Cup in 2013, had hoped to follow teammates Jack Nowell, Anthony Watson and Henry Slade into the big time.
However, his career hit the buffers at Sixways amid perceptions over his defence and, after a brief stint with England 7s, he has opted to pursue career opportunities in the City. Howard, 25, told The
Rugby Paper: “It was a big decision to come away from the professional game and I certainly think I’m still good enough to make it in the Premiership, but I had a pretty rubbish year at Worcester so I’ll step away and then maybe reassess things next year.
“I’d been at Worcester seven years but I wasn’t getting much love. There were coaches last year who still referenced games I’d played when I was 19, but I felt I’d progressed a long way from all that and it was frustrating not to be able to shake those perceptions.
“I came back from that U20s World Cup in 2013 and it was the first year of Dean Ryan. I didn’t play many games but when I did I made a few mistakes and probably didn’t bounce back as strongly as I should have from a mental point of view, which has counted against me.
“Throw in the fact that Chris Pennell had an exceptional year and has been a legend at the club, it made things pretty hard. Maybe I should have moved on earlier but I’m looking for a fresh start now while working for Cognosec, a cyber-security company at Canary Wharf.” Howard might have turned his hand to Sevens after representing England last season in Dubai and Hong Kong, but he added: “Nothing came of that contract-wise and while there might have been chances in the Championship, I’ve gone down another route.” National One high-fliers Old Elthamians have ambitions to win a place in the Championship and eventually turn fully-professional. Howard said: “With the project they’ve got going on it seems a good opportunity from a playing point of view, as well as my future career-wise. “Gavin Lach, their director of rugby, has been here nine years and they’ve won five promotions. They’ve got full-time physios and S&C staff and they’re really trying to kick things on by supporting boys off the field, rather than just throwing a load of money at new players.
“There are a few ex-pros here like Joe Carlisle, left, Alex Rogers and Nathan Morris, who was with me in the U20s, but they’re not chucking money at us. We’ve all got jobs and the club are trying to improve boys they’ve recruited locally, so hopefully that will pay-off.
“We’ll look to play a good brand of attacking rugby, which is very appealing to me.”