Bears dynamo Harry hopes to take his game to the next level
BRISTOL hooker Harry Thacker hopes a successful end to a thrilling campaign will put him into contention for the Autumn Internationals.
With England boss Eddie Jones assessing options ahead of a series of October announcements, dependent on which clubs make the play-offs, whirling dervish Thacker is among a host of hookers pressing cases to challenge regular No.2s Jamie George and Luke Cowan-Dickie.
Thacker has made hay since decamping from Leicester to Bristol in 2018 and has long been earmarked by club supremo Pat Lam as an x-factor performer he expects to make the step up to Test level.
Thacker, 26, said: “I’d love to play for England and all I can do is keep trying to improve. The main thing is to keep enjoying my rugby and the squad we’ve got here drives standards. So long as I keep playing a lot of rugby, that’s when I’m enjoying it best.
“Playing week-in, weekout, as opposed to the few games I was getting here and there at Leicester, has massively helped my setpiece and the way Bristol want to play suits my game. I get a lot of ball in hand in space and it fuels the way I’ve always liked to play.”
Thacker added: “When I was at Leicester, I used to look at how Schalk Brits played the game and he was completely different to most of the other hookers around at that time. For me, it was always about trying to replicate that.
“I idolised him and aspired to reach that level. It wasn’t all about ball-carries, he had a really good set-piece as well so he’s been a brilliant role model for me over a number of years and I’ve always tried to add that different dimension to the No.2 jersey.
“Development-wise since being at Bristol, we had a good scrum coach in Mark Irish up until the lockdown and he put a lot of time and effort into me, both tactically and in the way we approached every game.
“We’d go through all the minor details and whether you’re a front five or a back five forward here, the mindset to scrummage played a huge part. Having guys like John Afoa and Kyle Sinckler around makes a huge difference too.”
With Lions star Sinckler
fitting seamlessly into the Bristol culture along with Saracens loanees Ben Earl and Max Malins, Thacker says: “Recruitment is huge and Pat Lam does his homework. If they’re not the right fit, they don’t come.
“If you want to be playing Champions Cup rugby and competing for Premiership titles, you need depth and having guys like John Afoa and Kyle rotating at tighthead has been brilliant for us.
With a place in the Premiership
play-offs up for grabs, Bristol’s jewel in the crown is their electrifying Fijian Semi Radrada, who has convincingly lived up to his blistering billing.
Ahead of this week’s critical league clashes against Leicester and London Irish, Thacker added: “I knew Semi was good but seeing him on the pitch, I feel like I’m at schoolboy level again where one lad stands head and shoulders above the rest.
“To have that bit of stardust in the team helps you get on the front foot and he can create something out of nothing. If he makes a halfbreak it gives the rest of us opportunities to make good decisions and attack space.
“Guys like me and Ben Earl are thriving on that and if Semi doesn’t finish things himself, there are plenty of guys in our side who will. There are ten points available this week and we need another result to go our way, but we’ll go for it and give ourselves a title chance.”