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'We probably have got a much better rugby player than we thought'
Adam Jones has explained his surprise that Jack Walker has turned out to be a far better player than he originally thought when Harlequins signed the hooker from Bath last summer. With ex-Wales international Scott Baldwin on the move to Worcester following the Gallagher Premiership title final win over Exeter, the London club had a big hole to fill in their front row.
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They turned to Walker even though he hadn’t been the first choice hooker at Bath under Stuart Hooper or Todd Blackadder. The 25-year-old had come through the system at Leeds and skippered England to World Cup glory at U20s level in 2016 after being part of their title-winning squad two years earlier when Maro Itoje was captain.
Bath became his route in the Premiership but he couldn’t make a convincing enough claim and was a sub in 42 of his 59 league appearances. However, it has now turned out he was a hidden gem whose exploits so far at Harlequins have exceeded what assistant coach Jones was expecting.
Walker has started all nine Harlequins matches in the Premiership and this Saturday against Cardiff at The Stoop will see him make his second successive start for the club in the Champions Cup. It all amounts to a shrewd bit of summer business by the London club.
“I have always known about him,” said Jones when asked by RugbyPass for this verdict on the front row’s reliability for Harlequins. “He captained England U20s and was destined for great things. He went to Bath probably expecting to kick on but Tom Dunn coming on the scene made that shirt his own.
"It was a bit like Rocky against Apollo Creed in the original Rocky and they kept swinging until the end…"
– Adam Jones on the emergency Cardiff props coming up against a "monster" Toulouse pack#Cardiff #HeinekenChampionsCup #Harlequins #HARvCARhttps://t.co/vKRFZHabWk
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 16, 2021
“We signed him because we were losing Scott, who was a big player for us, and we needed someone who was really good at the fundamentals, the scrum and the lineout, and Jack is. I don’t think he was allowed to show it as much in Bath, so he has been brilliant for us. He is still young – he is only 25 – so he has got a lot of time left in the game. We have Sam Riley coming through, Jack Musk, and Joe Gray, who has been around for 830 years, is helping them all out.
“Jack Walker has been brilliant for us. I didn’t realise how good he was until he signed, to be honest with you. You look at his Bath clips the last three, four years, you won’t see him offloading out the back or finishing two-on-ones with simple handling in wide channels. You wouldn’t have seen that. We probably have got a much better rugby player than we thought.”
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What is he like in the dressing room? “He is excellent,” added Jones. “He speaks well. When you come into a club you generally step back a bit but he is coming out now and the fact is he is playing really well. That is the main thing. Sometimes you get some players who talk a load of bulls*** and don’t back it up but certainly he is speaking well and is trying to lead the scrum more, which is good for me, and he has shown on the field what a good player he is.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
4 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
3 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
4 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
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