Young Gun: Rory Thornton – Wales U20s & Ospreys lock

As far as good weeks are concerned, the past seven days could not have gone much better for Rory Thornton. He led Wales U20s to an historic 21-15 win over England in the opening round of the Six Nations and then made his first competitive start for the Ospreys.
His involvement with his region meant he missed the U20s win over Scotland on the same night but he is already looking at potential title-deciders against France and Ireland.
“Wales had never beaten England at this level so it was a fantastic result for us,” he told The Rugby Paper. “We've set a marker for the rest of the year so we've got to keep it up now.
“Our next two games against France and Ireland will be crucial. They both had a good starts but we're looking forward to it. It would be a great achievement to win the Six Nations but we'll take every game as they come and it'll start with France away in two weeks.
“This competition is a great shop window for all youngsters playing in Europe. All the games are on TV and our respective coaches can see what we're doing. The standard is really good too with most of the English players last week having Premiership experience already.
“The Ospreys have injuries so I was called back. I'd been involved in the LV=Cup but making my first league start was fantastic – a massive step up in terms in physicality.
“It'd be good to get involved again with the U20s in the Six Nations before the World Cup in Italy but I wouldn't turn down game-time with the Ospreys in the Pro12.”
It might seem as if the world is at Thornton's feet but only two years ago his routine could not have been further from that of a professional rugby player.
Growing up near Swansea, Thornton started playing rugby at the age of 8 at Bonymaen RFC while attending Cefn Hengoed Comprehensive School and later Gower College.
Until the age of 18, his rugby schedule revolved around playing for his school on Wednesdays and for his club on Saturdays.
Watching some of his friends being picked up by the Ospreys from the age of 15 he thought he had missed the train to a professional career but all that changed in May 2013.
He said: “I never expected the Ospreys to call me but they did just as I was finishing at college. The season was nearly over but I played a couple of games for them against the Scarlets and Cardiff and they offered me a development contract to join their academy.
“I couldn't quite believe what was happening to be honest. Out of nowhere I was then picked for Wales U18s and it went from there really.
“Coming so late I've had to work pretty hard on my conditioning to make sure I'm ready for senior rugby but it's going well at the minute.
“I've been playing for Bridgend in the Premiership this year which is great. The other day we played Pontypridd in the derby and beat them to end their winning streak. That was massive as well.
“There are a lot of young and talented players in the Premiership so the standards are really high. It's a great stepping stone for the Pro12.”
*This article was first published in The Rugby Paper on February 15.