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'I've been in conversations with Steve, we've always kept in touch'

By Bryn Palmer
(Photo by Dan Mullan/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Former Wasps lock Joe Launchbury has signalled his intent to force his way into the England World Cup squad later this year despite taking a sabbatical in Japanese rugby. The 70-Test veteran is currently recovering from a broken hand sustained in his full debut in Japan’s League One for Toyota Verblitz, the club he began training with in December after the demise of his beloved Wasps.

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Launchbury, 31, is ineligible for his country during his six-month stint in the Far East, which ends in May before he returns to England to join Harlequins on July 1 and has revealed he has been in regular contact with new England head coach Steve Borthwick in recent weeks.

Far from considering his Test career to be over, he hopes to earn a recall this summer ahead of the global gathering in France starting in September. “I don’t think you ever lose that ability, or that desire, to play international rugby and it’s certainly still there for myself,” he said, speaking from his home in Nagoya, west of Tokyo.

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“I understand being over here now is making it harder for myself and missing the Six Nations is making it harder again, but it is still something I am very passionate about. I have been in conversations with Steve; he is someone I have worked with for a number of years. We have always kept in touch and we certainly have over the last few weeks.

“For me now, short-term it’s about getting back from this hand injury – hopefully I will be back playing in a few weeks’ time – and then from there, whatever happens, happens.”

Having worked with Borthwick when he was an assistant coach with England under Eddie Jones, Launchbury believes the former Leicester Tigers head coach will swiftly restore the reputation of the Red Rose pack and make them a unit to be feared again. “He obviously changed Leicester pretty quickly,” Launchbury noted. “Steve is an extremely detailed coach and very knowledgeable, especially around the forward area.

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“I imagine he will get that forward pack back to being feared by some of the other teams, which maybe they haven’t been over the last period of time. I’m sure that will be his focus straightaway and I certainly think there will be a bit of a reaction from them. The Six Nations is a hugely challenging tournament and anyone can beat anyone, but I expect England to be competing much more than they have been over the last few years.”

Launchbury spent 12 years at Wasps after joining the club as a teenager and it is clear the scars of their slide into administration last October and subsequent relegation from the Premiership are still raw. He still can’t quite believe a professional sport “could allow two of the top 13 teams in the country to go like they did”, with Worcester suffering the same fate.

Following the mass redundances suffered by both clubs, he now prefers not to plan too far ahead these days. “If you’d asked me six months ago, I’d probably have said I wanted to stay at Wasps for the rest of my club career. But things obviously change and the one thing I have learned recently is you can’t look too far forward. You might be doing something completely different.

“I didn’t expect to be out here quite so soon and I am really excited about going to Quins. It’s a club I played a lot of my junior schoolboy rugby with as well, so closing the circle on that will be quite nice. I obviously hope there is a future for Wasps, there is something there and whatever comes of it, I hope they succeed in the future. Whether I play any part in that, we will see along the way.”

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For now, England exile Launchbury is revelling in the chance to experience a new culture, on and off the pitch, in Japan with his wife Mallory and their two children, Blythe and Hayden. The family are only an 80-minute bullet train ride away from Tokyo and have just returned from a weekend trip to Osaka. “We went to Universal Studios and ticked off all the touristy bits up there,” he explained.

When I came over here for the World Cup in 2019, I said to my wife if the opportunity ever arises to come back, it would be brilliant and we are absolutely loving it. She is heavily pregnant as well now but we have loved it so far from a cultural point of view. I have also been impressed by how professional it is here and the standard of rugby.

“I am towards the big and heavy end of the scale in England and I’m a fair bit heavier than a few of the guys in the team here. They train and play at quite a pace, so although the physicality might be slightly different, the speed of the game is certainly quick.”

With the budgets of Premiership clubs severely squeezed, Launchbury believes more players will tread the same path as he and new Toyota Verblitz teammate Jamie Shillcock, the former Worcester fly-half. “Clearly you have got to be playing in England if you want to play for England, so if you are at that stage of your career and have those ambitions, it is decided for you.

“But a great friend of mine, James Gaskell, is playing for the other Toyota club, Shokki Shuttles, and coming from playing 30-odd games in the Premiership to here and experiencing a different way of life, he is hoping to stay for a few years to come. It is not only beneficial for the Japanese league but also guys with some experience in England where it’s a great time for them to come out and try something different.”

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A
Adrian 46 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

6 Go to comments
T
Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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