'Jason called him up and fake scared him... my dad got quite intimidated'
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.
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.
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.
"He has got a good kick on him but his dad was the master 10 back in that era"
– How Louis Lynagh's breakthrough left one member of the Harlequins staff recalling memories of Michael Lynagh in his Wallabies pomp#PremRugbyhttps://t.co/uw9bUyJvvV
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 11, 2021
“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.
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.
“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.”
The making of Maro Itoje ?
Jim Hamilton was lucky enough to spend some time with Vitality ambassador and former teammate @maroitoje before he heads to South Africa ? @Vitality_UK
EP 1 – https://t.co/CIOmpi9Q2K pic.twitter.com/tSUOl348QX— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 24, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
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 commentsNo way. If you are trying to picture New Zealand rugby with an All Blacks mindset, there have been two factors instrumental to the decline of NZ rugby to date. Those are the horror that the Blues have become and, probably more so, the fixture that the Crusaders became. I don’t think it was healthy to have one team so dominant for so long, both for lack of proper representation of players from outside that environment and on the over reliance on players from within it. If you are another international side, like Ireland for example, sure. You can copy paste something succinct from one level to the next and experience a huge increase in standards, but ultimately you will not be maximizing it, which is what you need to perform to the level the ABs do. Added to that is the apathy that develops in the whole game as a result of one sides dominance. NZ, Super, and Championship rugby should all experience a boom as a result of things balancing out. That said, there is a lot of bad news happening in NZ rugby recently, and I’m not sure the game can be handled well enough here to postpone the always-there feeling of inevitable decline of rugby.
6 Go to commentsNo SA supporter miss Super Rugby - a product that is experiencing significant head wind in ANZ - the competition from rival codes are intense, match attendance figures are at a historical low and the negativity of commentators such as Kirwan and Wilson have accelerated the downward spiral in NZ. After the next RWC in 2027 sponsors will follow Qantas and start leaving in droves.
2 Go to commentsLike others, I am not seeing the connection between this edition of the Crusaders and the All Blacks future prospects under Razor. I think the analysis of the Crusaders attack recently is helpful because Razor and his coaching team used to be able to slot new guys in to their systems and see them succeed. Several of Razor’s coaches are still there so it would be surprising if the current attack and set piece has been overhauled to a great extent - but based on that analysis, it may have been. Whether it is too many new guys due to injuries or retirement or a failure of current Crusaders systems is the main question to be answered imo. It doesn’t seem relevant for the ABs.
6 Go to commentsharry potter is set in stone. he creates stability and finishes well. exactly what schmidt likes. he’s the ben smith of australian rugby. i think it could quite easily be potter toole and kellaway for the foreseeable future.
5 Go to commentsThis is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks 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 commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
6 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
5 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
7 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf 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 commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
2 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
2 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to comments