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Junior Kpoku: 'Getting a red card, I took it as a positive'
By Liam Heagney
Life has come quickly at Junior Kpoku in 2025. The England U20s forward made dubious history five weeks ago, becoming the first-ever recipient of a 20-minute red card in a Six Nations tournament the evening before Stuart Lancaster, his Racing 92 boss, was unceremoniously sacked by the underperforming Parisian club.
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An immediate upside, though, to the three-game suspension given to the 124kg, 204cm giant following his January 30 tackling misdemeanour away to Ireland in Cork was a sudden invite from Steve Borthwick to attend first-team training at Pennyhill Park in the lead-up to England’s round two win over France.
That was sweet, getting to compete at the lineout and elsewhere against Maro Itoje, an idol dating back to the time when the now-England skipper used to regularly say ‘Alright, mate’ to the wide-eyed Junior when his dad was dropping the older Kpoku brothers off at Saracens training.
Junior caught up with Joel just last Saturday in Paris, his Pau-based brother grabbing the bragging rights with his team’s generous Top 14 win over a 92 selection that was Kpoku-less due to his England age-grade commitments.
Missing out was fleeting irritation. “It was annoying because I did want to play against him to show him who’s who, but it is what it is… the day we do play against each other, that will be the decider,” he quipped.
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This sibling rivalry on hold, Kpoku’s priority is seeing out the U20s campaign with the title-defending England and ahead of the spin across to Bath for Friday night’s round four clash with Italy, he beamed in loud and clear from Bisham Abbey in Marlow to catch-up with RugbyPass.
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It was nine months since we last chewed the fat, meeting up in person in Cape Town during the early part of the World Rugby U20 Championship that Mark Mapletoft’s squad impressively went on to win. Kpoku has lost none of his infectious chutzpah in the meantime, confidently talking up his giddy ambitions to go a very long way in the game – ultimately back in England.
A three-year deal dangled by Lancaster was the attraction that originally lured him to France and away from Exeter in November 2023 and despite another year reportedly being added to that contract some months ago, a break clause exists which could pave the way for a 2026 return to the Gallagher Premiership.
“I don’t know yet, don’t know,” he deflected. “I have spoken to my agents and everything and they obviously know what I want to do, but at the moment just focusing on my rugby.”
We’ll dwell further on the England part of this focus in a minute. First, the fluid situation at the 12th-place Racing. “Stuart getting sacked, it was a big shock. The only reason why I went out there was to work with him, to become a better rugby player and everything. It’s a bit of a kickback in the arse really.”
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The Racing remedy? “We just need to try and flick the switch, hurry up, learn everything and become a team really quick because that is all it is. The cohesion probably is not there. Maybe everyone is still doing their own thing but we just need to play as a team, stick to a game plan that the head coach sticks out.”
Results certainly aren’t good at the minute with just six wins in 18 league matches and pool stage elimination from the Investec Champions Cup. The Parisian lifestyle, however, lifts the spirits. “You have got everything that you need. Champs Elysee isn’t that far, Eiffel Tower isn’t that far. You just go out and have a laugh, go to restaurants and have a bit of fun. It’s really good.”
Another appetiser is working this season with ex-England captain Owen Farrell, following on from a maiden year in France where Siya Kolisi, the double Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks skipper, was a teammate.
Junior Kpoku ? Siya Kolisi
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“I still talk to him, we still catch up and everything,” he said about the South African who featured in the RugbyPass Embedded documentary series when Kpoku casually called him up mid-haircut for a natter while filming at a Cape Town barber shop. “I like to text him to say how are things, how are you getting on and obviously looking for some help and guidance if I need anything. He’s brilliant. 100 per cent. Just the personal stuff.”
And Farrell? “Him being injured is a bit of a blow for Racing because he is one of the key boys that we have in the group, but he is going to be back soon and hopefully he can deliver on the pitch when he gets back and change where we are on the table. I have learned from him as in on the pitch, the amount of info he gives to everyone. Looking at his career, he has done pretty good for who he is.”
Switching across the Channel, what was it like arriving at England seniors for the first time the other week as a 19-year-old eager to impress? “It was really good. A bit nerve-wracking training with those boys but I took it with both hands, tried to express who I am as a person and what I can do on the pitch. Steve hopefully likes it and he hopefully will have me in again soon.
“We had a meeting in the morning with the whole team just to go through the strikes and the plays and what Steve wanted to get out against France. He just introduced me, ‘Welcome to the camp’, and everyone just said hello. It was really good, the best players in the country and you are training with them. It’s a privilege.”
Kpoku isn’t shy in advertising he is after Itoje’s spot in the long run. “Everyone knows I want to get after him in the lineouts. Hopefully, I can put a lot of pressure on him in the lineouts and phase play, try and do things that he can’t do or whatever.
INTERVIEW Q&A: Getting to know England U20s lock Junior Kpoku, from Liam Heagney ??? in Cape Town. #WorldRugbyU20s #EnglandRugby #RSAvENG #rugby
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“I just wanted to try and beat him in that scenario, so it’s just keep working hard and hopefully that will come.” What was Itoje’s feedback about their head-to-head training ground battle? “I don’t yet, don’t know. We haven’t had the catch-up on that yet.”
Kpoku’s confident strut might grate with the traditionalists, who feel youngsters should only be seen and not heard, but he doesn’t mind. “I just leave them to it, there is nothing I can do,” he shrugged. “I just say to myself I am not going to change who I am for someone else because they don’t like it, I just stay who I am and then hopefully deliver on the pitch on the day.
“Any environment I go to I like expressing who I am as a person because if you don’t it will come out later down the line. ‘Who is this guy? This guy was quiet. He wasn’t like this when he first came’. I like to stay who I am.
“I am always confident in everything I do. That’s how I am really. If I am quiet it means there is something wrong with me. Everyone knows if I am quiet coming into work, they would be like, ‘What’s up with him? Why is he quiet? There is something wrong there’.
“I like to put the pressure on myself. I have high standards when I step on the pitch. I know who I want to be and who I want to play for, so I need to work hard for it and try and beat those boys in my spot.
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“It [last month’s call-up] has made me want to work even harder to get into that England squad. It’s a good environment. You are around a good bunch of lads, good coaching and everything, so it’s a really good place to be in and that is where I want to be – to represent my country.”
Kpoku is well aware that the gap currently isn’t vast between international age-grade and Test rugby. “Exactly. You look at Asher (Opoku-Fordjour) winning the Six Nations with us last year and the World Cup and having the opportunity to come off the (Test) bench against Japan.
“He did a brilliant job in the scrums for Steve. It shows you. (Henry) Pollock then being in the senior camp and he hopefully can push on and have a bench or a start with Steve Borthwick’s side.
“I would say it’s an easy sport, you can understand everything,” he suggested about the transition between both squads. “The calls we have here in the U20s, we don’t have anything the same but you just need to know the basics of the ball shapes and everything like that, so that’s easy.
“And when it comes to the lineout, you just need to understand what your bit is so if you say something, just know what your bit is. That is all you need to know. You don’t need to listen to the whole 10 words he says. Just know two words and that’s it because that is your role.
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“The amount of details and accuracy he [Borthwick] wants in the lineout from the boys, he knows every single call. He can tell me, ‘I want you to do this, this, this… bang!’ It’s crazy. He helps me with some lineout stuff as well because obviously I’m still learning, I want to become the best and I obviously need to go out there and seek some help.”
Kpoku’s progress this spring was jeopardised by his penalised high tackle in Ireland. His 20-minute red card didn’t derail the U20s team, as the new ruling meant he could be replaced and they went on to win at Virgin Media Park. But the subsequent disciplinary hearing was also all new to him, as was the ensuing tackle school which reduced his three-game ban to two.
“It was a bit nerve-wracking because my rugby career is in his hands,” he said about the disciplinary process. “He can ban me for 10 weeks if he wants or whatever he wants, so it was a bit nerve-wracking but you stay composed and obviously accept what happened.
“Getting a red card, I took it as a positive as I never got a red card (before). I have learned from my mistake and I am now a better tackler from that. It has got me to practice how to tackle, doing more tackling drills with the coaches so I can go in at the weekend and show what I have been doing behind the scenes.”
Explain tackle school. “It’s you sitting down with one of your coaches at the club, so I sat down with Dimitri (Szarzewski), our forwards coach, and we went through the actions of how I did it and why I did it.
“I had to explain why I did it and then I had to do the drill outside. Same format of what happened, do it again and again but what would you do in that scenario if it happened again? That’s all it really. I’d say (it took) about 30 minutes, maybe 20.
“I love this team,” he added, delighted that his tackle school success allowed him to make his comeback versus Scotland, teeing him up to now finish out the campaign well against Italy this Friday and then Wales next weekend.
“It’s just how tight we are as a group. We go out on the pitch and express who we are as a team and the collective and the result shows for itself really. What we did last year was with last year’s group. We’re a new group this year and our goal is to go out there and express who we are as a brotherhood.
“It’s just doing the basics that we do in training and don’t change anything. The boys are obviously going to be buzzing if we win this weekend. We will go into Wales really confident to hopefully try and get a Grand Slam.”
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