YOUNG GUNS
Life experiences can be career-enhancing for any young player and for 20-year-old Wasps tighthead prop Jordan Cordice, 2020 will go down as a year to remember.
While most of Britain headed towards Covid19 misery, West Londoner Cordice boarded a plane to New Zealand late last February, where he spent the summer playing for Whangamata, below, situated southwest of Auckland on the magnificent Coromandel Peninsula.
Coached by former Wasps forwards guru Leon Holden, Whangamata had designs on winning the Thames Valley Championship – a feat they duly achieved with Cordice playing a full part in what proved to be an outstanding eight months on and off the field.
Cordice explained: “I’d been rehabbing from a hamstring injury in late 2019 when our academy manager, Kevin Harman, said there was an opportunity to go to New Zealand and play in the equivalent of National One or Two rugby for a full season.
“Leon Holden was putting together a team to challenge for top place and it was a good year for us. I played ten games in all, including the final, and it was a very positive experience. For me to have the independence to travel all that way, live, work, meet new people and adapt to a whole new environment was something I’ll never forget. I took a lot from it.
“The people there were a pleasure to be with and I did all sorts of work. I was a barista in a cafe by the beach, did a bit of scaffolding and painting and even did some baby-sitting, so I’m a pretty good oddjob man now and it was good for my rugby development as well.
“I’ve got good coaching mentors at Wasps in Andrea Masi, Matt Everard and Richard Beck but when I was at Whangamata, a guy called Dave Dillon came down from Japan to help us and he was a pretty inspirational guy to work with. He had a wealth of knowledge and it was great to listen to him and take in some ideas, as well as keeping in touch with Wasps.”
Back at Wasps, Cordice now hopes to build on the progress he has made since being spotted playing for Wasps Amateurs and the Middlesex County team at 15.
“I reckon I just need some training sessions and games now,” says Cordice. “I probably still need to put a bit of weight on but Lee Blackett has shown he’s willing to give younger boys a chance and when you see the number of young players in the Wasps side and around the Premiership in general, it gives you that extra drive to succeed.” An admirer of Kyle Sinckler, All Blacks prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi and Exeter tighthead Harry Williams – “An outstanding scrummager,” says Cordice of the latter – the former Orley Farm Schoolboy adds: “I’ve got experienced playing mentors in Simon McIntyre and Biyi Alo so I’ll do everything I can now to get a shot at that senior level.”