YOUNG GUNS
HARLEQUINS WING
Under the guidance of some of the most legendary wingers in Premiership history, Harlequins academy wing Kitan Ojo is looking forward to playing rugby again after rupturing both his Achilles.
Ojo suffered a horrific sense of déjà vu as he ruptured his Achilles during lockdown in 2020, only to return to rugby in preseason of this campaign and rupture the other.
He said: “The first one was a bit of a shock, I was probably quite naive at how bad of an injury it was because I'd never been injured before. I was doing a Bronco by myself during lockdown and ruptured it then.
“Almost a year later, I was in the same physio room with the same physio being told I'd ruptured my other one which was quite unlucky but the good thing about an Achilles is that once you rupture it and it's healed, you can't re-rupture it because the scar tissue heals better.
“So, now I've done both it only gets better from here and things are looking up. I've started running on the anti-gravity treadmill and I'm looking forward to next season.”
After idolising Anthony Watson, Tom Varndell and Ugo Monye from a young age, Ojo is now fortunate to be involved with all three.
He said: “I'm lucky I'm in a position where Tom's my agent and Ugo's my mentor as I was put in touch with him through Quins. Ugo then put me in touch with Anthony Watson when I did my Achilles, so I'm so grateful for that as he's helped me massively.”
Ojo went viral scoring a try against Gloucester in the Premiership Academy League in 2020 as the youngster made an impressive and acrobatic dive into the corner with three defenders coming across to push him into touch.
Ojo fended one defender and somehow managed to touch the ball down with his right hand before hitting the touchline.
He said: “I love a cheeky finish in the corner like that, you see Denny Solomona doing it in the Premiership. So, I focused on dotting it down in the corner and keeping my feet up.
“I remember my first try for Epsom, I tried to do a Rieko Ioane finish where he dots down, and slides and I actually dropped the ball but luckily no one could tell. I've stayed well clear of those finishes since.”
The 19-year-old started playing rugby at Worth School in Sussex and attracted the attention of Harlequins at the Rosslyn Park 7s when he was in year 9.
Ojo said: “Rosslyn Park being a national tournament, I think we had the likes of Wellington and St Edwards in our pool, and I scored a few tries against them and clearly Harlequins thought I was a half decent player as they approached me straightaway.”
The winger moved to famous rugby school Epsom, where Ojo won the Surrey 7s in his last game of rugby back in 2020 before his back-to-back injuries.
He said: “My first lower sixth season in 2018 was unreal and I was lucky I had that so that Quins could offer me a contract based off that.
“The rugby culture in the school is amazing, as they make sure lessons never clash with games so the whole school can come to watch.”
