Blood's thicker than water as Bath prop Beno Obano tells cousin Maro Itoje about his many career setbacks
Bath prop Beno Obano has opened up on the Maro Itoje Pearl Conversations podcast about the spiral of events and injuries he has encountered in order to reach the stage he is at now in his career. The two players, who are actually cousins, discussed everything from their rugby careers to their childhood holidays. They also shared their experiences in the professional rugby environment being British-Nigerian.
Obano explained how he keeps to himself in what is a different culture to what he is used to, having come “from a Nigerian household where if it’s any sport at all it’s football, if it’s not football then it’s books”. The Bath prop also spoke at length about the obstacles he has had to overcome throughout his career in terms of injuries and the path that has led him to the cusp of the England squad.
The first major setback the 25-year-old suffered was while he was still at school in London and part of the Wasps academy. He said on the podcast: “I was playing for my 1st XV at the time. I was 16, so I was still in year eleven playing for the 1st XV and in the last minute of the game I went for a jackal and the ground just went underneath me.
“I’ve done the splits and torn my hamstring. Obviously, at the time you don’t know anything about injuries, I was just thinking, ‘I’ve pulled it’, I just thought it was okay and I’ll be back in a week or two.”
The loosehead had Wasps training on the afternoon of the injury and he recalls that his hamstring reacted in such a way that it “has never been the same since. ‘Til this day, ’til this running session I did this morning, it’s never been the same since”.
Blood is thicker than water ?? This week I'm joined by my cousin, @EnglandRugby and @bathrugby Prop @ObanoB, for the 5th episode of #PearlConversations. Click here to listen in full https://t.co/jgbfnWVx3A ? pic.twitter.com/2RE5Sht9Dm
— Maro Itoje (@maroitoje) July 28, 2020
This injury ultimately meant the prop was fast-tracked to the England U16s camp without going through the regional stages, yet he “couldn’t run at all” and was subsequently sent home due to a lack of fitness. Despite missing out on the under-16s, he later made the England U18s squad only to play at hooker, which both he and Itoje regaled was hampered by his throwing.
The next setback was after signing a contract with Wasps where he had a scan on a back injury that had been bothering him. This revealed his back was fractured, which meant he missed “the majority of the season”. He said: “I was learning how to run again properly. This was all happening at 19 and I don’t think people understand – when you’re 18, 19 you can’t fully comprehend injuries and what it takes to return from them.”
After leaving Wasps, Obano was offered an opportunity to play an A league game. “I trained for Bath for a week and then went and played in that game and lasted 18 minutes. They dragged me off after 18 minutes. I hadn’t played rugby in a year and I must have been about 126kgs.”
Nonetheless, Mike Ford gave Obano the opportunity to take part in the pre-season at Bath, which he said was “the hardest I’ve ever done in my life”. He was offered a contract after that and spent the season on loan at Coventry. It was during Todd Blackadder’s second season in charge at The Rec in 2017/18 where the imposing prop finally announced himself, emerging on the radar of England head coach Eddie Jones.
However, this progress was yet again curtailed by a devastating knee injury in May 2018 while with England where he “tore every ligament” in his knee. While that was his most recognised setback to date, Obano also described how he had suffered a knee subluxation earlier that year with Bath which meant he did not take part in the England training camp ahead of the Six Nations.
These experiences throughout his career have given him a cautious approach to rehabbing and dealing with injuries, leading him to trust what and who he knows. He said: “Because of my hamstring I don’t trust physios that much, so I don’t trust what they say. But I have a good friend of mine called Keir Wenham-Flatt. He works in college football now in America and if I had an issue I would always call him. That was important.
“So the physios would suggest something and I’d call people to make sure what I’m doing is correct. Then all you have to do is make a good plan and just stick at it, be consistent with it and that’s basically what I did. I just trusted the people that I knew and the physios that I knew that I trusted, not just the club physios, and basically created a plan with them and then followed that. I remember I’d get in so many arguments with my physio because they would tell me to do stuff I’d refuse to do. But it worked and I got back in nine months.”
His knee injury quashed any hopes of competing for a World Cup 2019 place, but Obano has been ever-present for Bath since his return. An injury to Mako Vunipola during this year’s Six Nations saw him called into the England training camp once again, but he remained behind Joe Marler and Ellis Genge in the pecking order and is still waiting for his first cap.
He added that it “weighs on [him] quite a bit” that he has not yet played for England, particularly as his cousin plays so often, and he outlined his determination to be selected by Jones in the future.
Heck of a lot of ability in this XV https://t.co/LkligKBuLd
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 8, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments