Young Gun: Ed Hoadley – London Irish scrum-half

There are not many better places to learn your trade as a scrum-half than at London Irish and Ed Hoadley does not intend to let his opportunity go to waste.
With ex-England No.9 Peter Richards in charge of the academy and Ireland‘s  Tomas O’Leary in the first team, Hoadley, 19, is not short of mentors.
And the former Millfield pupil should get plenty chances to put his lessons into practice this season as the only scrum-half in the current academy crop.
Hoadley comes into the London Irish senior academy after graduating from the London Irish AASE scheme and has already featured for the first team, albeit off the bench in their pre-season friendly against Nottingham.
And with O’Leary, Pat Phibbs and Darren Allinson ahead in the pecking order Hoadley knows he will have wait for first-team action.
But the lifelong London Irish fan insists he will be picking up every little crumb of knowledge and experience that he can from Richards and Co.
“This is a huge season for me,” he said. “It’s my first professional year and I want to get stuck in as soon as possible and put down a marker. I’m the only academy scrum-half so the A-League and the LV= Cup should be great opportunities for me to get involved if I’m lucky.
“I’ve got three great scrum-halves to learn from in Tomas, Pat and Darren and with Pete Richards at the academy it’s pretty much the perfect set-up for me. It’s perfect to have Pete giving me extra skills after training and always passing on bits of advice.
“Now to be training with the first team and to watch the other scrum-halves, taking little bits from each of them and seeing the examples they set.
“As a young player you are always looking to improve but Pete is a big one for working on your strengths as well as your weaknesses. There’s always another drill he’s showing me and with his experience you would be stupid not to listen.”
Hoadley started out playing in the youth sides at Farnham before his rugby really kicked on to the next level at Millfield, the scrum-half a key figure in the side that won the 2009 Daily Mail Cup.
By the age of 17 the Exiles’ scouts had cottoned on to him and he left Millfield to join St Pauls as part of Irish’s AASE system.
The youngster has not looked back since and is now set for a first full season in and around the first team as he looks to make his way in the professional game.
“I’ve always been an Irish supporter, they’ve been my local Premiership club so to sign a deal with them was just a dream come true,” he added.
“The club have been great in pre-season and I couldn’t really ask for anything better to learn and improve. There are a lot of experienced guys in front of me so I know any opportunity I get I will have to take with both hands.
“I’m now living up near the training ground in Sunbury so I’m having to get used to cooking and cleaning for myself.
“Gerard Ellis and Tom Fowlie are my flatmates so it’s nice to have someone to share the academy experience with.
“Guys like Tom Homer and Marland Yarde came through the system and are now mainstays of the first team so those are the guys we’re aiming to be like, they are the example that if you work hard you will get your reward.”