Ben Earl: 'Sink or swim at this point, isn’t it? Let’s hope I swim'

Weights are a tricky business. For whatever reason, a scattergun of different numbers can exist for a player. Take Ben Earl. The official matchday programmes at the Rugby World Cup in France have him listed at a mere 95kgs, his profile on the RFU website suggests he is 107kgs while Saracens list him as being somewhere in between, 224lbs which equates to 101kgs.

What sent RugbyPass into the stats cave was a suggestion put to Earl on Thursday in Paris that he is going head-to-head at Stade de France on Saturday with a player who weighs 18kgs heavier. Yet, we can’t be sure of the exact difference between Duane Vermeulen, the Springboks veteran, and the up-and-coming England star.

You see, the France 2023 programmes have Vermeulen tipping the scales at 108kg but his SA Rugby profile has pencilled him in at 117kgs. Whatever the true figure, there is certainly a difference in the size of the respective No8s taking the field. Does it faze Earl?

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“Look, from everyone who has played against him – and I haven’t had the privilege – he [Vermeulen] is one of the smartest players as well as one of the biggest. To play against someone like him is going to be brilliant. I have got to bring the best of myself.

“I have got to play to my strengths, he has got to play to his and I’ll really enjoy and relish that battle. In the league [the Premiership] and international rugby, you play against big players all the time so it’s not something I am massively not used to, but it’s the World Cup semi-final, it’s a new level, you have got to bring the best. Sink or swim at this point, isn’t it? Let’s hope I swim.

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“One man’s strength may be another man’s weakness. I don’t know a huge amount about Duane in terms of that regard. I know what I can do, what I am trying to get out of the weekend in terms of my personal performance and what I can give the team. The biggest respect we can give these guys is playing our best and seeing where that gets us after 80 minutes.

“I’m just excited about testing myself against some of the best in the world. People who have played against them say that they are fantastic to play against and I can’t wait to test myself against those and whoever comes off the bench. They have got such a wealth of talent and experience in that (back row) area. I’m buzzing.”

Earl has been setting his team alight at these finals. When England gathered back in June to commence preparations, there would have been fears that the Saracens back-rower would be squeezed when it came to the official cut of 33.

However, the Earl who dropped off the England squad last February wasn’t the same as the Earl who returned some months ago.

The realisation that he wasn’t fit enough to play international rugby resulted in additional work to get him up to speed and the results have been so impressive that the 25-year-old has gone from being a sub in all 15 of his previous appearances to becoming an indispensable starter in seven of his country’s last eight matches.

“It’s certainly the most enjoyable time in my career,” he admitted following three starts at openside and four more at No8, the position where he will start against the Springboks. “Really grateful for everything that has happened to me so far this campaign. Not taking it for granted.

“What has been most enjoyable is playing with people I have not had the pleasure of playing a huge amount with. Having played against these guys a lot, to play with them is a nice privilege to have.

“In terms of my journey, I have not really had a chance to look back, it happened quite quickly. I have loved it and now it seems like a long distant time away where you probably weren’t getting that recognition.

"If you named a World XV at this moment of time, he would be close to getting in it."

– Kevin Sinfield and Ollie Chessum rate a standout England player at the Rugby World Cup. #EnglandRugby #RWC2023 #ENGvRSA pic.twitter.com/P0f0NZ6swm

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 18, 2023

“Just appreciate wearing the rose every day and I really do appreciate it. In terms of what Kev said, to come from someone like him is massive and someone I honestly have so much respect for on and off the pitch, one of the best guys I have met, one of the best rugby minds I have met. That is always nice to hear.

“Every player is slightly different,” he added. “I never compare myself to Billy (Vunipola) but I have learned a huge amount from Billy having played with him for club and country. I just try and do my own thing, be the player that I’m trying to be. So far so good in certain aspects of the game. It’s something that I will try and replicate if not better this weekend and hopefully it helps the team get over the line.”

A regular interviewee in recent months, you can chart the progress of England in terms of the interviews Earl has done. The more he does the more optimistic he has sounded.

“One win away from the final, two wins away from taking the trophy home. First things first, massive game on Saturday night,” he said starkly, emphasizing how close England are to crowing glory… Belief is good. We are buoyed by where our game is at.

“It’s what being in the World Cup is about, you have got to play the best teams to win the trophy. We want to play the best teams, we want to test ourselves against the best. As a forward, there are not many better. We can’t wait to come up against what is probably one of the best sides in the world.

“They [South Africa] are world champions for a reason, Lions champions for a reason, but we are our own team. We are a team that while you felt went through the mill a bit over the last couple of months we don’t hold too much baggage. We feel like we’re a new team, we feel like we are at the beginning of our journey and are not carrying too much of a burden.

“We are going to try and play our best rugby, we are going to try and be at our best and that is all we can do. We have a huge amount of respect for them. Honestly, I have been watching highlights from when I was 12 of some of those guys, certainly in the pack. I have a huge amount of respect for them but the only way we can respect them is by being at our best and that is what we have been speaking about all week.

“Our whole story is we have not felt far off. You have got to realize we are a new group. A lot of teams coming into this World Cup are coming off four, eight years cycles. What are we, four months in as a team, as a group? We knew there we going to be some pressure in terms of gelling together quickly and we speak a lot about being the fastest learning team.

“On the whole, we have had some spanners thrown at us through the warm-up games and certainly through the early stages of the competition, We have dealt with them pretty well. We are pleased in that regard and what is most exciting now is we feel we are building nicely and hopefully we showcase that this weekend.”

Earl insisted England should be on the money, that they quickly got over the euphoria of their quarter-final success last Sunday against Fiji and moved on to the task at hand.

“The coaches have been brilliant this week in how they have managed us. You saw the elation of the quarter-finals and of course we are ecstatic to be where we are, this is another step and we are fully prepared for that,” he said, going on to emphasize the importance of the final 20 minutes.

“As is most things with Steve (Borthwick), it’s almost like he has prophesied this game coming at this point. I remember back in July in Verona and talking about the fourth quarter of games and doing fitness then training, doing fitness then training, almost preparing us for times like this, making changes in between sets and whatever. It’s something we have prepared for in that regard.

“We know that Test matches for 60 minutes you are normally nip and tuck, pretty closely matched and it’s almost now down to that last 20 and that’s not lost on us. We have got such a wealth of experience in our team both in the pack and in the backs, so they are always very good at steering us through and all we have got to do is listen and do our job.

“Some of the guys coming off the bench have played in some of the biggest tournaments, the biggest games in the world so we are excited to see how they go… hopefully we are in a position where they come on and just get us over the line.

“That’s the most important thing, it’s now down to winning, it doesn’t matter how you play. We want to play our best but we have got to try and win the game – and we have shown different ways of doing that over the last couple of months.”