GUNS YOUNG
As a youngster growing up in Buckingham, all-rounder Will Simonds excelled at football, rugby, cricket and tennis. He might have ended up as a footballer had trials with Norwich City and MK Dons amounted to anything, but it was rugby that eventually held sway.
Simonds, whose earlier years were spent in Singapore before his family returned home to England when he was nine, became besotted with the daring deeds of All Blacks centre Ma’a Nonu whilst watching Southern Hemisphere rugby on TV – and from that point he was hooked.
“I used to love watching Nonu,” said Simonds, 18. “I watched a lot of Super Rugby at weekends and enjoyed watching the Hurricanes. He was a bit of a basher to start with but ended up with a pretty complete game so, as a centre now, that was a good education for me.
“I played a few sports growing up and football was first choice at one point, but all my mates at school played rugby and that’s the way it went. I was better at rugby, too, so it naturally fell that way for me and I actually moved positions quite a bit before settling at centre.”
Simonds explained: “I started off playing fly-half at Buckingham RFC when I was much younger, then moved into the centres before going to fullback. But more recently (former England U18s coach) John Fletcher and Andrea Masi, my academy coach at Wasps, thought I’d be better suited to the centre positions so for the last six months I’ve been playing at No.12.”
Fletcher is no longer with the RFU but will always hold a place in Simonds’ heart. “I was part of the England U18s set-up last season and that was absolutely brilliant. I’ve known John Fletcher since I was 13 or 14 and he’s one of the most influential coaches I’ve had.
“I don’t think I’d be as good a player now if I hadn’t met him and the way he coaches just makes everyone feel so comfortable. You’re able to express yourself and you do become a better player in that environment, whilst at Wasps Andrea Masi has been fantastic too. He was a centre and a great defender for Wasps and Italy, so who better to learn from?”
After being promoted to Wasps’ senior academy during the summer and having started the season in their Ateam, Simonds will be looking to knock on the first team door when the Premiership Rugby Cup comes around and potentially earn an England U20s call-up. In the meantime, he is happy to learn from the array of midfield talent on his doorstep at Wasps.
Simonds added: “I’m blessed with having guys like Elliot Daly and Juan De Jongh at the club – both class players who I can learn plenty from – and I’ve been training a lot alongside Mike Le Bourgeois, who’s a really gifted player who knows how to run a team. I’ll hope to stay involved in the A-League and then maybe play Premiership Cup when that kicks off.”