Lewis Ludlam almost quit rugby before making England's World Cup squad
World Cup-bound Lewis Ludlam was considering his options outside of rugby a year ago as he reflected on a career that was in danger of fading away.
Ludlam is among the surprise inclusions in England’s squad for Japan 2019 after an accomplished Test debut against Wales at Twickenham on Sunday propelled him into the final 31 ahead of Brad Shields.
A June camp was his first recognition by Eddie Jones yet after expecting to be jettisoned each time a new training group was announced, the openside flanker is instead heading to the Far East as one of five back row options.
At the last World Cup, he was even picking several of his new England team-mates in his fantasy team for the tournament.
But after starring at the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in 2015 when he was named his team’s most valuable player, his progress stalled back at his club Northampton due to a combination of injury and the competition from seasoned internationals.
Every journey starts somewhere ?
Here is your 31-man England squad for Japan ?
? https://t.co/iDqmKi3LQX pic.twitter.com/C2MDfA3iPI
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) August 12, 2019
“It has been a bizarre seven weeks. This time last year was like almost one last shot at it for me, trying to fight for another Saints contract,” Ludlam said.
“There were a lot of back rows and (director of rugby) Chris Boyd said to me when he came in that he could give me an opportunity but he didn’t really see where I fitted into his plans.
“I didn’t even know if I would get a contract renewal. I had one year left. I hadn’t played more than a handful of games since my the junior World Cup.
13 years ago I promised my primary school teacher if I ever played for England id get her tickets to my first game to thank her for her support. Can’t believe we actually managed to track her down! pic.twitter.com/Wi7060esr1
— Lewis Wesley Ludlam (@LewisLudlam) August 13, 2019
“You see a lot of stuff on social media – ‘Where’s Ludlam? What’s he doing? Hasn’t played since the junior World Cup.’ Chris Boyd said the same when he came in.
“It crossed my mind – what am I going to do post-rugby? But I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to do other than play rugby.
“Part of last year was about trying to play my way into a good highlights reel to get a gig at a smaller club than Northampton or potentially abroad. I was always thinking about other options.
Joe Marler makes an eye-catching claim about Eddie Jones' England squad in the wake of the Treviso altercation between Mike Brown and Ben Te'ohttps://t.co/L2wHt2KEjv
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 13, 2019
“But reading the stuff about me on social media made me want to prove people wrong and I’m just happy I got the opportunity to do that.
“Chris has given me that confidence. He told me to play my natural game and enjoy it. For a coach to put that sort of confidence into you as a young player really helped me push on.
“Eddie said exactly the same to me on Sunday – enjoy it, be natural, and the rest will follow.”
Apart from the maturity, resilience and physicality shown against Wales, Ludlam’s first Test appearance was notable for the passion evident when singing the national anthem.
He comes from a family of mixed heritage – dad Arron is of Palestinian and Egyptian origin while mum Dorinda hails from a Guyanese background.
It was glimpsing his father in the crowd at Twickenham and seeing him perform God Save The Queen with such gusto that inspired Ludlam.
Dream come true, surreal day. Hungrier to play for England again more than ever.
Thank you all so much for the messages its been a crazy week and still getting round to replying to everyone. @ Twickenham Stadium https://t.co/fDdwKTbkNH— Lewis Wesley Ludlam (@LewisLudlam) August 11, 2019
“I’m not naturally very emotional. I like to get myself worked up before a game and play off that emotion, but not ever like that.” the 23-year-old said.
“Seeing my dad in the crowd while singing the anthems gave me goosebumps, gave that extra little bit of something. I wanted to sing it that little bit louder too.”
– Press Association
WATCH: Lewis Ludlam talks to RugbyPass following his selection in the England RWC squad
Comments on RugbyPass
What 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.
1 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.
4 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.
5 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.
1 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.
1 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 commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
4 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to comments