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Henry Arundell: Borthwick visit, next season, the winger he most fears
Henry Arundell has spoken about his meeting with England boss Steve Borthwick last week in Paris and given an update on where he might play next season. The Racing 92 winger has also described the body transformation he underwent during the 2020 pandemic, while also naming the winger who has hurt him most so far in his fledgling career.
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The 21-year is currently three appearances and four tries into the one-season deal he agreed with Stuart Lancaster’s Parisian club following the bankruptcy of London Irish following the completion of the 2022/23 Gallager Premiership season.
Arundell, who scored five tries versus Chile in the recent Rugby World Cup, will be eligible for England selection in the 2024 Guinness Six Nations due to the one-year dispensation given by the RFU to players forced to go abroad following the collapse of Irish, Wasps and Worcester.
That availability resulted in the youngster welcoming England boss Borthwick to the Racing training ground last week amid speculation that he could sign with a Premiership club for the 2024/25 season so that he can continue to be picked by his country after his dispensation runs out next summer.
Arundell, though, has told Midi Olympique that there is no guarantee he will be back in the English league next term. Asked by the French bi-weekly publication what Borthwick said to him when they met and what he will be doing next season, he replied: “I haven’t made up my mind yet.
Oyomax en Une de Midi Olympique !
Le journal est déjà dispo ici > https://t.co/EcPCpDh0Lh pic.twitter.com/1W0ozlnGe8
— Midi Olympique (@midi_olympique) November 30, 2023
“For that, I’ll wait a few more weeks, but I was glad to see Steve, yes. He told me he wanted me back. We’ll see… For now, I’m focused on the start of the Heineken Champions Cup and the big game that awaits us against Harlequins: Quins are the historic rivals of London Irish.”
Arundell is enjoying himself at Racing, so much so that he has made a bold prediction as to how their promising 2023/24 season might finish. “I’ve always thought of Racing as the Real Madrid of rugby. The Galactico club. For me, the opportunity to play in the same team as Gael Fickou, Siya Kolisi, Juan Imhoff or Josua Tuisova could not be refused.
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“The Top 14 is by far the best championship in the world. Every weekend, you compete against the greatest players on the planet. Everywhere you go, the stadiums are full, the atmosphere is crazy… I’ve played a few international matches and in my opinion, the Top 14 is the league that comes closest to that level.
“My father was at Paris-La Defense-Arena on Sunday night for the match against La Rochelle. Pfffff… He had stars in his eyes at the final whistle. He felt like he’d been to an NFL show. He said the atmosphere was crazy. I’m English. I love my country, our rugby and our fans. But at the stadium, there’s a big difference between 10,000 English fans and 10,000 French fans: the French are a bit crazy, aren’t they?
“I don’t see why Racing can’t do the double. We have got the team. We have the staff. We have a beautiful stadium and passionate supporters. So, why not? When I was 10 years old, I wrote down in a little book what I wanted to achieve: first to play for my academy, then for the England U20s team, then for England; later, playing in a World Cup, being part of the British and Irish Lions… I always carry this notebook in my bag.”
That notebook got plenty of use during the pandemic rugby lockdown as Arundell vowed to muscle up during the layoff. “I had to transform myself physically,” he explained. “Just three years ago, I was playing with the English U18s; I was already fast but above all very skinny. What did I weigh? 85 kg.
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“The day the lockdown was announced by the British government (March 2020), I decided to transform myself: I asked one of my mother’s neighbours to lend me a weight bench and so it all started there, in a garage without windows…
“In the afternoon, I would work on my skills and my kicking game in the garden: I would put a bin in the middle of the pitch, run towards it, kick it over and try to get the ball back… I gained 7kgs in a few months. It’s helped me a lot to cushion the impact and develop my rugby, more generally.”
That additional bulk, though, was no use when Nemani Nadolo blew him away in a Leicester versus London Irish game. Asked which winger has hurt him most in his career, Arundell revealed: “Nemani Nadolo, without a doubt.
“In February 2022, I had a nightmare against him. This guy is a monster. That day, he broke the line a few times and I couldn’t knock him down, it’s as simple as that.”
- Click here to read the Midi Olympique Q&A with Henry Arundell
Comments on RugbyPass
Let’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
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