'It's really nice to see that diversity coming through'

As black props playing at the top end of English rugby in the amateur era, England international and Bath star Victor Ubogu and the late Trevor Revan (Coventry and Rugby Lions) stood out as two exceptions to the norm.

Whether this was down to a small player pool, unconscious bias, or downright discrimination is open to conjecture, but what can’t be denied is the fact that any aspiring young black props had precious few role models to look up to.

Nowadays, it is a different story altogether. Players like Beno Obano (Bath), Jamal Ford-Robinson (Gloucester), and Simon McIntyre (Sale Sharks) were at the vanguard of the change a decade or so into professionalism, along with Ellis Genge, who is of mixed race heritage, which has gained momentum in the last few years.

Black props are not only fairly commonplace but are also making a big impact in the Gallagher Premiership, and it would only appear to be a matter of time before the likes of Gloucester’s Afolabi Fasogbon wins a first senior England cap and McIntyre’s Sharks team-mate, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, who scored a stunning try against Halrequins at the weekend, adds to the one he got against Japan.

Northampton’s Emmanuel Iyogun is also looking to put himself in the frame for England selection this summer, having finally been given a clear run at the Saints’ No.1 jersey following Alex Waller’s retirement, while big things are expected of the club’s Cameroon-born Beltus Nonleh, who made his debut earlier this season.

“Beno led the way in that sort of sense, and he has been a great role model for the younger boys,” admitted Iyogun, who came off the bench against Bath in Saints’ 2024 Premiership final win, the day Obano was sent off.

“I think there have been loads of boys who said they’ve spoken to him and popped him a message, and they say he’s been really open in terms of his experience in the Prem and been really helpful.

“It’s amazing, and it’s really nice to see that diversity coming through. It is always nice to see a sport and a league that represents the country.”

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Gallagher Premiership

Northampton

48 - 31

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Bristol

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Initially a back-rower, the Saints academy graduate transitioned to prop around 2018 and has gone from strength to strength.  Having won age-grade honours with England, Iyogun was called up into the senior training squad at the end of the 2024/25 Gallagher Premiership season, as a reward for the role he played in helping Saints win the league and reach the Champions Cup semi-finals as back-up to veteran Alex Waller.

“It was a pretty amazing experience. It was only a week, but to be around a professional environment and international environment like that, when you’re surrounded by proven internationals, you’re only going to get better. And once you get a taste of it, you want more,” he said, reflecting on his time with Steve Borthwick’s group.

Waller, Saints’ record appearance maker, finally retired at the end of last season with 370 games under his belt; Iyogun has just under 70 to catch him up. Whenever Iyogun seeks counsel on loosehead play, he knows who to turn to.

“Even in the last year of his career, he was in unbelievable nick,” said Iyogun. “I still see him, we have a coffee now and then, and he still tells me how he’s loving retirement.

“He is some specimen, so being able to have him as a mentor and being able to pick up tricks of the trade – even with the way he looks after his body – has been pretty amazing.

“I am very grateful to him because he could have very easily kept his trade secrets and been of the mindset that ‘he’s competition’. But he has told me quite a lot of things.”

Iyogun was rested as Saints ended their long wait for a Premiership away win with a tight 35-34 win at Newcastle, but is expected to return to the front row for this weekend’s clash against Bristol and then the Champions Cup semi-final away to Leinster, to take his tally of appearances for the season to 20. Only once before, and the majority of those games were bench appearances, has the 24-year-old reached this figure (in 2021/22).

“At the start of the season, my goal was to put my name on the team sheet as many times as I could and with obviously Alex Waller leaving, there was a bit of a space to fill. So it was about keeping fit and putting performances in that I could be proud of from a set-piece point of view and around the park, and I think I am getting to the point where I am doing that,” he reasoned.

Pulling on the same jersey that Waller wore with distinction for so many years is something Iyogun will always do with pride. “Alex is a big character, he is someone that a lot of people looked at in terms of his experience, in terms of playing in big games.

“I won’t shirk from the fact that I am 24 and have had a lot less experience than him. But this year feels very formative in terms of me stepping up and trying to be a leader in my facet of the game

“It has been a bit of extra pressure, but I feel extremely privileged and pleased to take it on.

“Even though you still feel young, I realise I am now coming up against 20-year-olds like Afo and Asher, who are doing extremely well, and that you’re becoming more of an experienced head, and that is something I am relishing.”