‘Bored kids turn to knife crime, but I had rugby’
Prop Kyle Sinckler tells Mick Cleary his sport can do more to spread the message of diversity
‘You think Eddie Jones is a tough customer, try my mum, who put me in my place’
Kyle Sinckler heads to Cardiff as an integral part of the most diverse England World Cup squad ever assembled, urging the sport to do more to reach out to those kids from beyond conventional backgrounds.
The Harlequins tighthead prop, who had a torrid time on his previous visit to the Principality Stadium when England suffered their only defeat in this year’s Six Nations Championship, has had plenty of experiences of volatile occasions during his own route to the top from humble beginnings as a south London boy in a single-parent family.
It has been an arduous process at times for the 26-year-old, who was branded an “emotional time bomb” by Wales head coach Warren Gatland prior to that encounter in February, but the continuing maturity of the fiery Tooting-born player ensures that he goes to Japan with a burgeoning reputation, a far cry from his workaday origins.
Sinckler is proud of his roots, and even if England’s 31-man squad have been put together on merit, it is heartening for the sport that it can draw on such an array of diverse talent. More than a third of the players in the squad are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, a far cry from the white middle-class image of Twickenham Man.
“The more rugby puts itself out there in different communities the more diverse it’s going to be, although I do think rugby could still do a better job in putting itself out there and getting different kids,” said Sinckler. “The area I’m from you can teach a guy to pass and kick and play rugby but you can’t teach someone to be strong as an ox or as fast as they are or have that edge in mentality. They just need that opportunity. I was lucky. I got taken down to Battersea Ironsides and I had that
opportunity. I tried to make the most of it.
“I feel in this current climate, especially in south London where I’m from, a lot of those kids don’t have that opportunity. That’s why there are a lot of things happening with the knife crime and stuff. They’re just bored. They haven’t got anything to do. When I was a kid I was quite lucky. I had rugby, football and cricket. I did kick boxing, weightlifting … I was always busy. If I tried to do anything [bad] well, you think Eddie Jones is a tough customer, try my mum [Donna], who would put me in my place. She comes to a few games now when she can, but she still works 12-hour shifts at a police call centre in Hammersmith, so she’s quite tired.”
Sinckler still returns to Battersea Ironsides, and received messages of support along with all those others in the squad in a specially put-together video that was shown to the chosen 31 after the announcement on Monday. Sinckler also spends two evenings a week as coach with Guildford RFC in National Three.
“I go down every Tuesday and Thursday and even though it is still rugby, it helps me chill out,” said Sinckler. “I am the forwards and defence coach, so take the scrum and line-out. I love coaching. It gives me a chance to refresh. I try and go down to the Ironsides, too, as much as I can.
“I haven’t come through the conventional route. When I played at the club, we’d struggle to get 15 players on the field and had to borrow players from the opposition. Now it’s got one of the biggest minis section in the country. When I go there the kids are hanging off my legs and all sorts. It’s come a long way and I’m proud of it.”
Sinckler himself has come a long way – his raw, explosive and occasionally combustible talent transformed into high-achieving output. The fact that Gatland, who selected him for all three Tests on the Lions tour to New Zealand in 2017, needled him in February by questioning his temperament shows how much of a threat he is considered by the opposition.
The backhanded compliment almost came unstuck as Sinckler put in the sort of all-consuming performance in the first half that marked him down as a world-class force. Then the mist descended and Sinckler was substituted in the 57th minute after giving away two rash penalties in as many minutes.
Sinckler recognises the issues but is fully aware that props need to play on the edge if they are to be effective. Certainly England have a trio of operators in Ellis Genge, Joe Marler and Sinckler who would not look out of place kicking open the swing doors of a wild west saloon.
The unexpected presence of his Harlequins team-mate, loosehead prop Marler, who has come out of retirement, will be a boon for Sinckler, even if his one-time mentor must now get used to a role reversal after Marler was handed emergency back-up duties on the tighthead.
“It will be nice swapping shoes, with me bossing him around and shouting at him about what to do,” said Sinckler, whose workload will be significant as one of only two regular tightheads.
“I’m a rugby player. I want to play rugby. I’m not very good at just sitting around. I review every aspect of my game and have studied all the World Cups. They had a massive impact on me. I remember seeing [wing] Jason Robinson tearing it up in 2003 and I wanted to be him. Then I looked in the mirror and thought I’d probably better go with Jason Leonard.”
The back line’s loss is the forwards’ gain.