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'There's nothing in this group where you see he is like a sheep'

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

London Irish head coach Les Kiss has explained how a first Test cap with England has elevated the confidence of Will Joseph, the recently turned 20-year-old who has since made a storming two-try start to the new Gallagher Premiership season. The winger played a minute off the bench in the second Test win over Australia in Brisbane and was then an unused replacement for the following week’s series-clinching victory in Sydney.

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The younger brother of Jonathan, the 31-year-old who won 54 England caps and featured off the bench in the 2019 World Cup final versus the Springboks in Yokohama, Joseph has returned to London Irish from his international tour with an added pep in his step.

The promising winger, who signed a new contract in June, has scored in the matches versus Worcester and Northampton ahead of Saturday’s trip to Bristol where he will wear the No14 jersey in a back three that features full-back Henry Arundell, the other teenager to make a Test-level breakthrough with England on their recent tour down under.

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Getting capped for your country at such a young age is a massive deal but Joseph has taken this exposure in his stride and London Irish are liking what they are seeing from the youngster so far in the new 2022/23 club season.

“Before Will went away (with England) he had this sense that he belongs at this level, at first grade, and there is now a sense that he feels he belongs at the world stage for sure,” said coach Kiss to RugbyPass ahead of the visit by Irish to Ashton Gate.

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“It’s just about opportunities and growing his understanding about how he just gets better and better at this level. We know how to look after the young guys well and give them the right exposure and challenge them at the right levels so that they do grow. Will has a wonderful temperament. He doesn’t get fazed, he just understands moments before they happen. He is really good at that defensively and attack-wise.

“I just think the experience he has had away with Eddie (Jones), (Martin) Gleeson, (Anthony) Seibold and (Richard) Cockerill on that tour, he just seems to have grown that other depth of confidence that ‘I actually belong in this area’. That is a really good confidence but the two lads, including Henry, have got peers here (at Irish) that will keep them really honest and that is a really big plus for them.

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“The boys here have a bit of craic with them and all that sort of stuff, that is important too and they respect that. It is important not to lose sight of that from their perspective and they won’t because the boys here are really tight-knit. They look after them but they also challenge them in the right way with a bit of craic in order to keep their feet on the ground.”

How does Joseph compare to his older brother Jonathan, who also came through the academy at London Irish before heading away to Bath and making it with England? “I don’t know Jonathan that well but Will is his own man,” reckoned Kiss. “There is nothing in this group where you see that he is like a sheep, that ‘whatever they are like I will be like that’. He is how own man and he is comfortable in his own skin.

“He is not a man of many words but he is a man of when he does something it says a lot. In training if he senses the space he will attack it, if he senses an opportunity or something that could actually hurt, he anticipates things well.

“He does that in his mind with his technical/tactical mindset and he has got brilliantly quick feet. His body can move and his hips sway around but his feet always seem to take him where he needs to go. He plays like he is, he just believes in himself. He is his own man. He is a well-rounded boy, that is for sure.”

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Jon 3 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 6 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

28 Go to comments
A
Adrian 8 hours 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

28 Go to comments
T
Trevor 10 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
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