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'Jason called him up and fake scared him... my dad got quite intimidated'

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images for Harlequins)

Louis Lynagh may have been capped by England at age-grade level but the Italian-born Harlequins winger is definitely a chip off his dad’s Australian block as his gift of the gab means he is well able to tell amusing stories that are not the norm, certainly for a 20-year-old in the days leading into the biggest game of his life. 

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Thirty years after his father Michael helped the Wallabies to defeat England at Twickenham to win the 1991 World Cup final, Louis will be part of the Harlequins side gunning for Gallagher Premiership glory in this Saturday’s showpiece decider against champions Exeter. 

The final will cap quite an exceptional breakthrough year for the youngster who only started his first Premiership game for the club on Boxing Day. 

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Harlequins legend Mike Brown and Tommaso Allan guest on the latest RugbyPass Offload

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Harlequins legend Mike Brown and Tommaso Allan guest on the latest RugbyPass Offload

Lynagh has enjoyed a total of ten appearances and four tries in the 23-game Harlequins league campaign, an emergence topped off by his decision to agree on a contract extension at the club rather than follow the path that will be soon taken by his younger brother Tom, who is joining the Queensland Reds. 

However, Louis has jokingly recalled to RugbyPass how his career could have been over after his very first training session as a four-year-old at Richmond, just a couple of miles along the road from Twickenham where he hopes to be lifting the league title trophy this weekend.   

“That is a funny story,” chuckled Lynagh when asked if it was true that his father once received a threatening phone call from the legendary England and Harlequins prop, Jason Leonard, after Louis got into a bit of bother at his debut minis rugby training session. “I was training with Jason’s son and we got in a little scuffle, a jokey one, nothing too serious. I mean, we were four years old but Jason called my dad up and fake scared him. If you met my dad in real life he is not the tallest guy and he got quite intimidated.”

Michael Lynagh went into the history books as one of the most venerated Australian rugby players of all time. He won 72 caps, played at three World Cup and was such a hero to Billy Millard that the current Harlequins general manager had posters of the famed No10 all over his bedroom walls growing up in Sydney. 

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The infatuation has not been lost, Millard regularly referring to Louis at Harlequins as Noddy, the nickname Lynagh senior was known by when he ruled the international scene with a magical boot and a running game to savour. The nickname hasn’t cottoned fully on at Harlequins.

“Some guys do (call me Noddy),” said Lynagh. “Ben Tapuai does it, but that’s the Australian connection as well. It’s not such a bad thing. I wouldn’t mind being compared to my dad, he was a decent player himself so if I got to be at the same level and have his nickname that’s okay by me. 

“It has been a theme since when I was growing up and throughout schools rugby, but now I like to think I am making my own path. I will always have that connection to my dad and I will always be thankful for that, not only for his help in my career but what opportunities I have had to meet certain people and gather information about playing rugby and a lot of other opportunities. But, especially this season, I have shown that I can pull my own weight and I’m hopefully making more strides to bring my own name to the forefront instead of just being referred to as my dad’s son.”

As he admits, the family connection has helped in certain instances but Lynagh is adamant that the success he has enjoyed so far in his short career wasn’t simply handed to him. “I like to think I’m a hard worker and this opportunity hasn’t just fallen into my hands, I have been working hard even before I came into the academy.

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“All the steps leading up to this are finally paying off and that is not to say that after the final that is me done and I have had a great career. It’s just the beginning and that is something my dad always used to say to me, ‘Yeah, you have made this great achievement but then that is just the beginning of another step in your career’. Even though I have made such great progress there is always room for improvement.”

It was months ago, long before Harlequins became title contenders, that Lynagh decided his future was best served by staying on at The Stoop. He could see the potential of the squad even though it had struggled to be publicly seen before the Paul Gustard era as head of rugby ended in January.  

“I got convinced by how amazing a group this team is and that was before even we had a big run of games and we climbed our way up the table. Just before me, Marcus (Smith) re-signed and loads of big players had been re-signing. Then I re-signed and that just shows the effect of how we have all come together as a group and managed to form this core group of players that we can build from the backbone. Now we are in the Premiership final it just shows I have made the right decision for my career.”

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A
Adrian 43 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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