As befits a man with deep-rooted Irish connections courtesy of a mother from Belfast, South Londonborn Caolan Englefield is delighted to be in the vanguard of a London Irish revival that seeks to tap into its old country heritage following the move to Brentford.
A product Old Rutlishians RFC in Merton, Englefield was on the books of Harlequins from the age of 13. Unusually, however, he reveals how he became attached to both Quins and London Irish before the latter took the plunge and gave him a shot at the big time.
Englefield, just 21, explained: “I was at Quins, but at 16 I was playing a game for ‘Old Ruts' against London Irish Amateurs when Dec Danaher and James Lightfoot-Brown were watching. They got on to my coach about going into London Irish's AASE programme.
“Going to St Paul's College was one of the best decisions I've made and although it was unusual to be attached to two clubs, it paid off because when Quins decided not to offer me a contract at 18, luckily Irish stepped in and gave me one just before I left school.”
While Englefield's first full year at Irish was interrupted by a shoulder injury sustained during an Ireland U20s training camp, the livewire No.9 came through in his second season, making his Premiership debut against Saracens in August before facing Quins.
His progression up the London Irish pecking order was hastened by the departure of Scott Steele, a former mentor to whom he still feels a debt of gratitude.
“Scott was always good to me and I'm glad he's gone on to do well at Quins and play for Scotland,” Englefield says. “He was a good mentor, but with him going I've moved up one place up and I'm now competing hard alongside Nick Phipps and Ben Meehan.
“Nick's always good to talk to about how the game is played and how our attack can be better, while I speak to Ben a lot about the kicking and passing side of the game. For me, Ben's quite under the radar because he's one of the best kickers and passers I've seen.”
Wider afield, another man Englefield admires isn't a bad role model either. He adds: “Aaron Smith has always been my favourite, especially over the last couple of years coming into the professional game when it's been clear to me how much work I've needed to do.
“His kicking and pass-ing is impeccable and just watching how he goes about his busi-ness and the energy he brings to his game, that's some-thing I try to model myself on.”
Although capped by Ireland at U19s level, Engle-field remains England-qual-ified and is openminded about any interna-tional future. For now, though, he says: “It would be nice to pick up a spot in one of our upcoming European games, but if it doesn't come, I'll just keep my head down. It's going to be an exciting few years for the club and I want to be part of it.”
