'No way I'm saying no': Lynagh clears up his Test level allegiance
England squad pick Louis Lynagh has addressed the commentary that he is still eligible for Australia and Italy after the recent Guinness Six Nations championship finished without him getting a debut cap with Eddie Jones’ side. The three-way Test level eligibility of the Italian-born, English-raised winger of Australian descent through his famous father Michael has been a point of fascination ever since he made his club breakthrough last season at title-winning Harlequins.
Lynagh was a revelation in Quins’ surge to win the Gallagher Premiership and the question of his international allegiance remains a hot topic. Having originally trained with England during the Autumn Nations Series, he didn’t make the initial squad selected by Jones for the Six Nations.
However, he soon forced his way into the equation and embarked on a cycle of training with England for two days at the start of the week before returning to Harlequins and playing for them at the weekend. That routine then changed in the final week when he was part of the squad of 28 taken by Jones to Paris on the Tuesday.
That was encouraging, yet no sooner did it emerge on the Thursday evening that he hadn’t made the matchday 23 were reports written in Australia about how the 21-year-old Lynagh – because he had remained uncapped – was still eligible for selection by the Wallabies ahead of their three-Test July series against the touring England.
Lynagh, though, has now knocked that speculation on the head. Asked by RugbyPass on Wednesday he explained that his ambition is to be capped by England and not the land of his famous father. “It was a great experience being able to go to Paris for that last game and experiencing France winning there, the atmosphere in the Stade de France was amazing. Something I will cherish for the rest of my life is my first Six Nations game (as an additional squad player), being able to experience that.
“But the most important thing is if I translate what I have learned in England camp to playing for Harlequins and playing well, that is all I can do and whoever I play for, I would love to play England as I am here and if I get that opportunity and Eddie calls me tomorrow and says, ‘Play for us’, there is no way I’m saying no. But it’s just about focusing on this weekend against Montpellier and then the following weekend and finishing off the season strongly and seeing what we can do from there.”
Having helped Harlequins consolidate their push for the Premiership playoffs with a run off the bench versus London Irish last Sunday, Lynagh is now looking to assist his club when they visit Montpellier in this Sunday’s Heineken Champions Cup round of 16 encounter. He has returned to Harlequins duty from his international stint with his outlook very focused after England training refined his game.
“It was a challenge coming back and forth from both camps, different types of training, different play-calling and stuff like that but from that eight weeks, it has just been night and day from when I began,” enthused Lynagh on what England squad selection did for him.
“There was added pressure but I like to think I thrive under pressure and the England camp has not taught me new things but helped me refine my game, what is important and what is not important, just focusing on specific areas of my game and narrowing it down to if I just do these three or four things every single game and do it at a world-class level you will be playing internationally in no time or you will be winning games with Quins and playing amazingly every time.
“That is what has been really important. Something I have been trying to figure out since I was a kid is not trying to do too much or not try to do everything at once and just being able to focus on a few things and being able to do those really well is what has been really good.
“And being in an environment with players I have watched since I was back in school since I was 13 and 14, and also being able to train and see Marcus (Smith) play, Joe Marler, Joe Marchant, Alex Dombrandt and all these guys who I can lean on in (England) training sessions, that has been really, really useful and hopefully there is many more to come.”
His Harlequins coach Tabai Matson has predicted there will be many more England opportunities for Lynagh, that he will be capped and will go on to enjoy a long career at Test level for the country he moved to at a young age once his dad finished up playing club rugby in Italy.
“It’s a fascinating one and Louis and I have had this conversation – it has been a different year but a tough year because going into that level of the game and the expectations and the preparation that they are trying to get to for a Six Nations game, spending two days with England, their calls, how they are playing differently and then coming back into our environment and pretty much polishing up his game and then going on and playing for Quins, he has done that for eight weeks and we have real admiration for the way he has gone about that.
“So he has only grown from that experience and we are really hopeful that he spends a long time in the England jersey and we are waiting for him to play his first game and push to that next level. With that in mind, one of the great things about Louis is he has delivered on the biggest stages.
“That is one of the things they see in the England camp – when it really matters he steps up, he defuses bombs and makes the toughest carries and makes the toughest carries. Weeks like this (in European action), Louis tactically has got a big burden but we know he can do it so the experiences with England have been really important for his growth.”
Comments on RugbyPass
It couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
25 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
25 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
44 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to comments