Rhys goes from the building site to the Premiership... and puts it all down to scrum guru ‘Bomb’
A YEAR ago Rhys Litterrick was working on a building site while also playing semi-professional rugby for Worthing RFC.
But fast forward 12 months and the 23-year-old tighthead has earned a contract with Gallagher Premiership outfit Harlequins where he is being mentored by his childhood hero and Welsh legend Adam Jones.
Litterick, who is Welsh qualified courtesy of his father Kevin who hails from Ogmore, is full of praise for Jones’ coaching and hopes working with the former Ospreys prop can help him nail down a starting place at Harlequins.
“Having Bomb (Adam Jones) as my scrum coach is unreal and I couldn’t ask for a better mentor,” he said.
“As a fan of Welsh rugby and as a tighthead he is someone I’ve always looked up to.
“He was one of the best tightheads in the world in his day.
“He’s a class coach. He’s honest which is what you want from a coach and he’s always available for a one to one session with him.
“After each session he encourages us props to go and knock on his door to sit down with him. He’ll tell you what you’ve done well and what you haven’t along with what you need to do to improve.
“He’s a really technical coach but he’s also got a good way of managing players and also getting the best out of them.
“I think I’ve improved a lot working under him, and being coached by Bomb will give me the best chance of being able to take my game to the next level.”
Things could have turned out very differently for Litterick and when Covid put a stop to all rugby he thought his chance of becoming a professional rugby player might have passed him by.
Having been missed by numerous academies as a teenager Litterick takes pride in having done things the hard way.
“I’ve only been playing professional rugby for 18 months,” he said. I appreciate it a lot especially all the late night drives to training and having to work at a building site throughout the day.
“The hard work is slowly starting to pay off. I was landscaping on a building site.
“It was very taxing and really hard but you just get on with it. I used to get up at 5am to go to work and then afterwards I’d go to rugby training in the night.
“Just before the pandemic I was going to join Blackheath in National One but Covid hit which knocked me back, and made me think I was never going to be a professional player.
“But Jordan Turner-Hall who used to play centre for Harlequins got in touch.
“I was playing some good rugby at Worthing and the opportunity came up to play for Harlequins A against London Irish on a Sunday night. I impressed them and got offered a six-month trial.”
Litterick has been making steady progress at Harlequins, making eight appearances for the former English champions while also playing for Esher in National One.
But with the likes of South Africa international Wilco Louw and seasoned Premiership campaigner Will Collier ahead of him in the pecking order it would be no mean feat to nail down a first team spot at Quins.
But Litterick is confident he can make an impact in the Premiership and believes scrummaging against the likes of England prop Joe Marler in training is also a big benefit to his long-term development.
“I want to break into Harlequins’ Premiership side,” he said.
“I feel like I’m learning and improving all the time, and I want to get some more game time which is crucial for any player.
“I’ve been travelling reserve for the last few games so I’m not miles away from it. I’ve had good feedback from the coaches so I’m optimistic I can kick on.
“The first couple of times scrummaging against Joe Marler was an eye opener but you learn what he’s doing.
“Marler is very helpful and he’s always there to answer your questions and help you but so are the other lads like Wilco Louw.
“He (Joe Marler) definitely lets you know he’s there put it that way.”
With tighthead prop arguably the position where Wales have struggled the most for depth at test level in recent years the Welsh management will no doubt be scouring through the Exiles system.
For those who haven’t seen him play, Litterick is quick to emphasis his point of difference is his scrummaging.
He is also quick to stress his heart is with Wales despite being born and raised in England.
“I definitely pride myself on the tight stuff like scrummaging which is what you are there to do,” he said.
“I would like to say I’m a destructive scrummager. Obviously every rugby player’s ambition is to play international rugby and I’d want to play for Wales but I’m not even thinking about anything like that at the moment.
“I just want to keep developing under Bomb and the other coaches at Quins and hopefully break into the first team.
“But I’d go anywhere which would help me develop my career.”
For now it’s a case of walking before he can run but Litterick is certainly a player the Welsh management should keep a close eye on.