HE’S A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK
“WHO knows? This could be a defining moment for us?”
So said Sean Holley after the Ospreys beat Munster to secure their first-ever win at Thomond Park.
“Bruno’s, this could be a defining moment for rice.”
So ran S4C’S 888 subtitles translation service that night in 2010. Crossed wires?
We’ve all been there.
But it would be hard to cross wires when picking out Iwan Stephens on a rugby pitch.
Those manning the International Space Station might be able to look down and spot that he is Colin Stephens’s son. Head back, chest out, legs pumping like pistons – the running style is unmistakable.
Close your eyes for a split second while watching the 19-year-old play and some of a certain vintage might be able to picture Stephens senior in his Llanelli and Wales prime. And he was good.
“He had more pure talent than some of the great outside-halves in international history,” Neil Jenkins once said of a player who rivalled him for the Wales No. 10 jersey in the early 1990s.
Rupert Moon’s half-back partner had quick hands, quick feet and a boot that could propel the ball through multiple postcodes.
It’s asking a lot for Stephens the Younger to be blessed with similar gifts.
But those who have worked with him say he has a lot of natural talent in his own right.
When he was with Leeds Rhinos rugby club, their academy chief Johnny Wainhouse reckoned he had the potential to play Super League.
Switching to union, Stephens joined Newcastle Falcons, whose academy chief Mark Laycock said at the time: “He kicks goals, scores tries for fun and he’s a really evasive runner with outstanding athleticism. He’s a really exciting signing.”
He could have ended up playing in Wales.
But despite a couple of regions showing an interest they were slow to follow it up. Newcastle, by contrast, had already done their research and wanted him straightaway.
Doubtless, the Kingston Park club viewed footage of the 90-metre try Stephens scored for Leeds Rhinos U19s before coming to their decision to hand him a two-year contract.
Covid-19 has restricted the amount of rugby he has played.
But he has no regrets about his decision to cross codes and is intent on making it work.
“I’m enjoying says.
“I played union in school for Morley at age-grade level but then I decided to focus more on league and it was good to be a part of the Leeds Rhinos set-up.
“But last year they told me that because of Covid and changes to the competition structure they couldn’t afford to keep me on.
“My dad mentioned the possibility of switching to union. Covid has meant I haven’t played much. “There’s a lot less time on the ball in union. In league you have a 10-metre gain-line, so to speak, but in union defenders are already there in your face.
“I knew it would take a bit of time but hopefully once I start playing it,” he things will start falling into place.
“Newcastle are a great club, on and off the field, and the boys and the coaches are first class.”
Just maybe, Newcastle have snapped up a player who could do a lot for them in the seasons ahead.
Stephens was the Rhinos U19s’ top try-scorer in the year before he crossed codes and had made England’s national academy performance squad.
He rounded off what the Rhinos’ website described as a great debut season for the under-19s with a try and six goals in England Academy’s 62-0 win over Wales in Llanelli.
The winger is keeping his options open on where his allegiances lie in union.
“I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself,” he says.
“I was born in Leeds and my dad’s Welsh, obviously, so that makes me dual-qualified.
“But I’m only just starting in union, so I’m not going to say I’m going to do this and that.
“My aim right now is just to have some game-time with Newcastle and do as well as I can for them.
“Like I say, they’ve given me chance and I want to repay them.”
He has watched old footage of his dad playing. “I’ve seen some of the clips,” he laughs.
“He was a good player.
“It was a heck of a coincidence that I played for England Academy against Wales down in Llanelli.
“I used to go down with my dad to visit my grandparents and uncle – and there was me lining up for England against Wales there. It’s a small world.”
Stephens junior is one of many young players whose progress has been interrupted by the pandemic and its effects on sport.
But his potential isn’t in doubt. Given opportunities, he stands every chance of making his mark. a