England’s ironman
Underhill takes up challenge
SINGLED out by Eddie Jones as England’s ironman, Sam Underhill’s ability to thrive outside of his comfort zone should put him in good stead ahead of this year’s World Cup.
The Bath star and former Gloucester flanker is on course to go to Japan having been a regular in the England setup since breaking onto the international scene two years ago and he has been a standout figure in head coach Jones’ early left-field preparations.
As part of last week’s training camp, the squad went to Cornwall where they did some survival training with the RAF that saw them set up camp for a short night stay in the forest, while they also took on the role of lifeguards as they practised rescue situations and took on other water-based activities with Underhill impressing in the ironman.
The trip was sprung on the squad as a surprise after a tough training session with players having their phones taken off them and going on a bus with no knowledge of where they were heading.
When they reached Truro, the Defence Survive Evade Resist Extract (SERE) Training Organisation, who do survival training for the military, took over with Underhill placed in a group with Gloucester pair Danny Cipriani and Willi Heinz, Sale flanker Tom Curry, Wasps scrum-half Dan Robson and Northampton centre Piers Francis.
They had to make a shelter, start a fire, cook for themselves and set up camp for the night in the forest, making a tent using a tarpaulin sheet, power cords and trees.
“I felt like a fairly budget Bear Grylls - a pound shop version,” joked Underhill at the England kit launch at a popup Canterbury Clubhouse shop in London.
“If we had been there for a few more days I think we’d have struggled a little bit.
“It was actually really interesting to talk to the army guys because they are the most extreme version of what you’d ever do in that situation.
“Those guys are trying to perform in high-pressured environments with whatever they’ve got, they might not have eaten for a day or two but they still have to perform and make good deci
sions and there’s a lot more riding on those decisions.
“Everything is thought out, there’s nothing that’s left to chance. Almost everything they did was deliberate, from the direction of the tent for southwesterly prevailing winds to sunrise in the morning so you get a bit warmer stuff you’d never think of.
“The level of detail they went to was impressive and a lot of it is applicable to rugby.
“Mentally it was a different challenge. On a rugby pitch it’s dead easy because you normally listen to your flyhalf for tactics, you listen to your second row for your lineout calls. None of us were adept at tent building or fire making.”
Underhill was named in England’s 35-man official World Cup training squad, which will be reduced to 31 by August 12 for the World Cup.
The 22-year-old, who grew up in Longlevens and went to Sir Thomas Rich’s School, is expected to make the final cut and compete with camping buddy Curry, for the number seven shirt.
And while competition for places in the squad will be fierce, their experience in a Cornish forest helped build relationships which could be crucial in Japan.
“It was a good group actually, a very good balance,” said Underhill.
“We got to know each other an awful lot more lying on a forest floor at midnight cuddling next to a fire.
“We were lying on ferns thinking this will make it really comfortable - a foot of ferns and then you’re lying a centimetre off the ground by the time it all packed down.
“Danny [Cipriani] and I put up the tent. Tom and Dan were doing the fire. Willi and Piers collected fire-wood, made stakes for us the tent pegs. It sounds daft, but in half an hour we had an awesome set-up.
“We didn’t actually elect a leader, it was like Lord of the Flies-esque but it actually went quite well, it was like the peaceful version - a successful version of that. But it felt like we were there for weeks.
“It was a really good laugh and physically it was pretty tough. We got woken up at three in the morning to then go and do further training, to disassemble our camp so it was one of those where we never knew what was coming.
“We were pretty gutted when they said to take down the camp that we built three hours beforehand.”
The players also took on an obstacle course with the RAF, helping to build trust with each other.
“I was reliant on Ellis Genge to have my back with a winch and a rope attached to me,” said Underhill.
“If I fell, he had the rope. He was 20 feet below me and wetting himself laughing. I’m like: ‘I’m sure I can trust this guy.’”
“You think ‘why am I on a climbing frame 20 foot in the air.’ Then you realise that you can trust guys.
“You’re always reliant on someone else, which was good. I suppose that’s the take-away from the RAF and the military in general - and you can see the comparison with rugby.
“It’s never an individual thing. You’re always reliant on someone to do a role to help you out.”
Underhill’s standout performance in last autumn’s international for New Zealand showed he is not the character to take a step backwards or shirk a challenge and he relished the challenges thrown his way.
When Jones was asked who was the best at the ironman challenge, he said “Underhill was pretty good.”
In response, Underhill said with a touch of modesty: “That’s very generous of him to say that any of us were very good.
“I think it’s more a case of some of the lads being horrific at it.”
The squad also did their own version of Baywatch at Newquay as they dressed up in red t-shirts and swimming shorts, while they raced on paddle boards.
“The beach stuff was tough, but was fun,” said Underhill.
“The whole point was that in rugby sometimes things happen that make you uncomfortable and take you out of your comfort zone. Even if your preparation is not 100 per cent you’ve still got to go and do something.
“It was a good laugh, something a bit different as well because water-based stuff, running on sand is always a bit more difficult than being on a normal rugby pitch.
“There were take-aways we could get from it in terms of our communication, our relationships with one another, planning, generic stuff we can apply to rugby as well.”
For 48 hours, the players did not have access to their phones, a rare phenomenon in the modern high-tech world.
“It sounds silly, but it’s another way of getting out of your comfort zone,” said Underhill.
“Everyone has a phone, most of us spend most of our days with one. They are entirely necessary for your work and for your social life and everything. It meant there were not external distractions.
“It was old-school, but it meant we had to talk to one another.”
England step up their preparations for the World Cup this week with a training camp at Lensbury, boosted by the arrival of Saracens and Exeter stars who have now finished their mandatory five-week rest period. it