I’m aggressive alright insists Jake
WASPS prop Jake Cooper- Woolley has dismissed accusations he lacks the aggression necessary to force his way into England’s reckoning for June’s tour of South Africa.
Cooper-Woolley, 28, has been on the fringes of Test selection for some time, having toured South Africa with the Saxons in 2016. However, a combination of injury and doubts over whether he is confrontational enough to cut it at the highest level has held him back.
After featuring in every league game for Wasps this season, though, and with top English tight-head Dan Cole potentially being rested this summer, Cooper-Woolley feels ready to emerge from the shadows and prove he is worthy of a place on the international stage.
He told The Rugby Paper: “In terms of aggression I’m not like an Ellis Genge or Kyle Sinckler. I’m not on that side of the confrontational line. I’m definitely on the other side of the line to those two but if you watch me tackle and scrum, I feel I do play very aggressively.
“Maybe I’m not the kind of guy Eddie Jones looks for who is really confrontational out on the park, but I think aggression and being confrontational are slightly different.
“I certainly play physically and although I’m a bit careful about what I say about scrummaging because you can sometimes take a hiding, more often than not I go well and if I get things right I can be as good as anyone out there, as I think I’ve shown this season.
“I’ve stayed relatively injury-free and it’s nice to just be playing every week and trying to put some performances out there.
“I’ll just keep doing that until the end of the season and if anything happens England-wise this summer on the back of that, then great.”
English tight-head stocks are perceived to be low, but Cooper-Woolley says:
“People talk about a lack of depth in the No.3 shirt in England but when you look beyond Cole, Sinckler and Harry Williams there’s a lot of quality throughout the Premiership.
“You’ve got blokes like Will Collier (Quins) and Henry Thomas (Bath), both of whom have got caps, and in Premiership terms they’re scrummaging well and getting through a lot of work. Nick Schonert (Worcester) is there as well, so to my mind there is plenty of competition.
“Dan Cole’s the man to chase down – he’s got lots of caps and been on a number of Lions tours, which you don’t do unless you’ve got serious quality – but I’m just looking to play really well and if you’re going in the right direction, which I feel I am, great.”
Cooper-Woolley’s England credentials face a stern examination against Cole’s Leicester today – a clash that could prove pivotal for the play-off ambitions of both sides.
He added: “Some teams have a good scrum but don’t really turn to it as a weapon, whereas Leicester, no matter where they are on the field, will use it to try and assert dominance. They’ll scrum for penalties and get the crowd behind them that way.
“They’ve got an exciting backline so if they can get on the front foot they can cause you all kind of problems.
“Every game is massive and if we’ve got aspirations of getting a home semifinal, first and foremost we must get a foothold there if we’re going to win.”
