Young Guns – Luke Griffiths

England U19s second row Luke Griffiths’ professional rugby career started with a bold LinkedIn message and a leap of faith to France.

The 18-year-old started his rugby at Farnham RFC but now trains alongside England centurion Courtney Lawes at French ProD2 side Brive.

Griffiths made his England age-grade debut against Japan U19s last month and is looking to continue building through the Red Rose pathway. He told The Rugby Paper: “My dad first took me down to Farnham Rugby Club when I was about six or seven. I just played minis there, doing the tournaments all around Surrey and Hampshire. Those Sundays were great – six games a day, all about enjoying rugby.”

Fast forward over a decade, and Griffith is now contracted at French side Brive – a move he orchestrated himself.

“In my last year of school, I’d heard about the opportunities in the French pro league, so I looked up Brive. I just went on LinkedIn, added the coach Pierre-Henry Broncan and sent him a message. Through that, I spoke to the academy managers, went for a trial, and ended up signing for three years.”

The decision to go to France came with challenges, but also opened up a whole new world of rugby learning.

“In France, the roles are really specific,” he explains. “Your number five might not even jump – he’s just there to hit people. So it’s more like you’re a Will Skelton-type enforcer. That’s been a really fun thing to adapt to.”

Physicality is something Griffiths embraces. He cites England greats Courtney Lawes and Maro Itoje as influences, but it’s the raw edge of players like Bakkies Botha that appeals most.

“I enjoy the physical side of things,” he admits. “I try to keep things legal, though – not quite as far as Bakkies in his day! But I think that physical presence is my thing.”

That presence has earned him recognition back home. Griffiths was recently called into the England U19s setup, an experience he describes as “an absolute honour”.

He added: “This time last year, I’d never have dreamed of it. Just being exposed to this level – the video work, the facilities, the training – it’s helped me progress so much. Lineouts especially. I’ve never done much jumping before, but these camps have really helped. Andy (England U19s forwards coach Andy Titterrell) has been awesome.”

He’s also had a chance to cross paths with one of his England idols, now a team-mate at Brive.

“I’ve had a decent bit of interaction with Courtney (Lawes),” said Griffiths. “He’s a really good influence at the club. There are definitely a lot more English voices in the stadium when he’s playing!”

Life in France isn’t without its hurdles. Griffiths admits to missing home and is open to a future return.

“I really enjoy my time here, but being away from family is tough,” he says. “I’m open to anything. Rugby’s an amazing chance to see parts of the world you might not have gone to otherwise.”

Off the pitch, Griffiths is still working on ways to switch off. “I like going for walks around Brive. Being a foreign player, you’re kind of always surrounded by rugby guys, so it’s hard to fully get away from it. I probably need to pick up a hobby – maybe golf!”

As for the game itself, if Griffiths could change one law, it’s the recent tweak around playing the scrum-half from the base.

“I don’t like the new rule about not being able to play the nine,” said

Griffiths. “There’s not much clarity for refs or players, and it makes it hard to know when you can go.”

By Ben Jaycock