Bustling Beno ready to muscle in on prop stars
INSPIRED by the World Cup exploits of cousin Maro Itoje, Bath’s bulldozing prop Beno Obano believes he is hitting top form in the race to further his own Test ambitions.
With Joe Marler remaining coy on whether he will retire again and Mako Vunipola embroiled in a battle for Premiership survival at Saracens, Red Rose boss Eddie Jones is currently sifting his loosehead options before naming a fresh Six Nations squad in January.
Obano might already be an England regular had he not mangled a knee prior to last year’s tour of South Africa. However, the effervescent 25-year-old has been starring in a more dominant Bath front row and is working overtime to earn a second chance.
“I think I’ve played really well this season and I’ve upped the work I do,” Obano told The Rugby Paper.
“My scrum’s improved and I’m doing a lot more work around the park. In fact, every aspect of my game is better and hopefully I can continue to develop now.
“It’s nice to think that I could have been at the World Cup if things had worked out differently, but Joe, Mako and Ellis Genge were good and they’re all quality looseheads. They very much earnt their places so it’s up to me to see if I can move forward and challenge.
“We’ve got Bath boys back from the World Cup now and seeing what my former housemates Anthony Watson and Jonathan Joseph did for England made me proud.
Maro’s my cousin as well and all my family and friends went out to Japan to watch the final.
“I’m really close to these guys and I sent them little messages and made them a video. It was sad they didn’t win, but what they did achieve really inspires you.”
In a bid to achieve his own Test ambitions, Obano has spent additional time working on his mobility. He also expects the arrival of former England scrum coach Neal Hatley to boost his chances further as Bath bid to fulfil their Premiership title ambitions.
Obano explained: “I made physical gains over the summer and started doing a lot more work on my movement around the field. Strength has never been an issue for me, I’ve always had that and it keeps improving, but I’ve been making big strides elsewhere.
“Having Neal Hatley back is clearly a good thing and I worked closely with him during my years in Bath’s academy and spent time with him with England as well. Our relationship has always been very good and he’s had a big effect on my career to date.
“I know what they’re looking for at international level, but it’s Eddie Jones that you really need to be having conversations with. He knows exactly where everyone is in the pecking order and has the most influence on who’s picked, so he’s the man there.
“Whether there are (Six Nations) places up for grabs, I can’t say. All I’ve got to do is play really well for Bath and Eddie will make his selections from there.”
Bath resume their Premiership campaign against Saracens on Friday, having won two and lost two of their opening four matches.
The manner of their last victory over Northampton showed Bath’s spirit, but Obano knows they must now deliver consistently.
He added: “As an organisation we’ve been like a rollercoaster for too long: we go up, then go down, we lose and then we win.
“The idea is to eliminate that and perform well again and again, get into that top four and start challenging those top teams.
“Performing well against Northampton wasn’t a huge surprise, but what’s important now is for us to show that same intensity when we play Saracens.”