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Two key reasons behind Asher Opoku-Fordjour’s England elevation
England U20 head coach Mark Mapletoft has praised Asher Opoku-Fordjour’s versatility and selflessness after the young prop was called into Steve Borthwick’s senior squad.
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Opoku-Fordjour was added to the squad on Sunday night, along with Bath lock Charlie Ewels, as England regathered to prepare to face Australia at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
The 20-year-old has been used primarily as a tighhead at club level – his five senior starts for Sale Sharks all coming in the No.3 jersey – but mainly lined up on the opposite side of the front row under Mapletoft.
It was in the No.1 jersey that he starred in England’s triumphant U20 Six Nations and World Rugby U20 Championship campaigns this year, and it is at loosehead that he could earn full international honours having come in for the retired Joe Marler.
“The thing that’s impressed me the most about Asher is, you know, he’s a quiet guy, he gets on with his business, but being able to play both sides at the level he’s played [is impressive],” said Mapletoft, who will coach England A against Australia A later this month.
“He was bouncing from playing tighthead at club to coming in to play loosehead for us. Now, there was an element of selfishness for the team in that regard, because we had good tightheads as well.
“We had Billy Sela, we had Jimmy Halliwell, we had Afolabi [Fasogbon] coming back from injury. So, the fact that he was able to park his own personal interests to do what was right for the team was amazing.”
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As a former fly-half, Mapletoft admits that front-row play is the area of the game he knows least about.
However, he describes Opoku-Fordjour’s ability to play loosehead and tighthead as a “great attribute” and believes he could have a long career at the highest level.
Since starting his senior career in the early-1990s, Mapletoft says he has watched props evolve from being “technicians who knew the time of day” into players who use their physicality.
“Life’s experiential so you pick up those opportunities, you learn little things along the way. The more you play, the better you get,” he added, when asked about Opoku-Fordjour’s potential.
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“Some of these lads are huge men and therefore they’re able to hold their own at a young age just physically without necessarily learning all the tricks of the trade.
“If you can combine the two over a period of time, then that’s quite exciting, isn’t it?
“The reality of rugby is you need a scrum. It won’t win you the game, but it makes it awfully difficult to win if you don’t have one.”
England A are due to play their Australian counterparts at Twickenham Stoop on Sunday, November 17.
Mapletoft will name his squad for the match on Wednesday and is expected to select a mix of experience and youth, with several players who excelled under him at U20 level potentially getting a chance to impress.
