GUNS YOUNG
Breaking into senior rugby ranks is high on Ben Loader’s agenda but for now his focus is on ending his schoolboy career with a Red Rose on his chest.
The Wellington College flier has had a stellar start to the season winning his second Daily Mail Trophy with the famous Berkshire School before turning out for London Irish in the Premiership academy league.
Loader is still waiting to hear whether he will be offered a full-time academy contract by the Exiles, but making the England U18s squad for the upcoming internationals is his next target with a four-day camp in Leeds next week.
“I’m looking forward to the camp next week,” he told The Rugby Paper. “I managed to be in the squad last year being a year young so hopefully I can keep my spot.
“We had a great year last season winning the inaugural Five Nations tournament over Easter and then touring South Africa. The tour was a great experience, even if it was pretty daunting at first being a year younger.
“I joined Wellington only last season and we’ve won the Daily Mail Trophy twice so that was a nice achievement. This year was a bit better for me personally because I was involved a lot more.
“We’re done with the 15s now but I hope to get involved with the Sevens team in the lead up to Rosslyn Park.
“A foot injury has kept me out in recent weeks but I should be ready to go for the camp next week.
“I’m too old to play in the Five Nations again but there’s two U19s games against Wales and France so I’m looking to get involved in those before the tour to South Africa in August.
“After that, my aim is to get a full-time contract with Irish but nothing has been decided yet. I’ve been at the club for a few years now and we won the Premiership U18s league last year so I really hope I can keep playing for them next season.”
Loader has already had a taste of senior rugby with London Irish this season as he made his debut off the bench against the Cornish Pirates in the British & Irish Cup.
He admits it was a big eye-opener but it also gave him an opportunity to see what was required of a winger at professional level.
He added: “Going down to Penzance in the cup was a great experience for me but to see the size of some of the players was scary to say the least! But I managed to do my job when I got on and we got the win.
“Physical development will have to be a priority for me but I’ll also have to broaden my game and become less predictable in terms of what I do with the ball.
“I played in the academy with Johnny Williams and Theo Brophy-Clews and I’ve seen them make the step up to senior rugby. I saw how hard they worked to become firstteam players so hopefully I can do the same if Irish keep me.”
NICK VERDIER