Ahead of his latest Amazon Prime documentary “Prep To Win: Harlequins”, Beno Obano believes it is crucial content around the sport is made in order to grow the game.
Obano’s latest release is a three-part documentary and offers unprecedented access into the rigorous pre-season training camp of the current Premiership champions Harlequins.
For the first time in the club’s history, Harlequins gives viewers unfettered access to behind-the-scenes moments and showcases the levels of professionalism and quality it takes to become champions of English rugby.
Most sports documentaries on teams follow them through their seasons but Obano wanted to shine a light on the nature of rugby’s preseason campaigns.
Speaking exclusively to The Rugby Paper, Obano said: “The documentary uses pre-season as a timeline from the beginning to the end, but the idea is we are supposed to learn more about the people, the job and their goals. That’s why it comes out at this part of the year because we now see whether the goals they had marry with their achievements throughout the season. In a lot of documentaries, you either see it post or you see it pre but now we get to see it all come together and see what they’ve achieved.
“I think preseason is the most transferable topic, a lot of people like to work in teams and it’s important. There’s so many elements that can go into different organisations and Harlequins are a successful organisation.”
The documentary coming soon features interviews with players including Marcus Smith, Danny Care and Alex Dombrandt.
Obano has always enjoyed documentaries and likes how truthful they can be.
He said: “I just enjoy them. I realised when I first started to do media work that what is said and what is printed are very different generally speaking, and it’s not through any malicious intent it’s just there is a difference from here to here.
“Written media give a perspective on what they think you’ve said, so when I make films, the person is just able to say what they mean rather than it goes through print, and you get a perspective.”
The Bath and England prop says it’s vital players outside the international game get the spotlight on them because he feels there are some great characters that go under the radar in the game.
He said: “James Chisholm is really funny! I’ve known James since we were 15/16 because when you play age group it locks all the best players together. We were both from south-east London, so I’ve known him for such a long time. I wanted to shine a light on him because we only love Tom Curry for example because Eddie Jones told us to. Eddie picks him therefore he’s the profile and back rower we love. So, I think there are so many back rowers and other players that don’t get to play for England but are still high-quality players and great people as well and I wanted to try and broaden that and shine a light on it.
“They are all good people at Harlequins, I’d even describe them as legends. There’s always a bond between professional sportsmen but especially rugby players because we all have the same interest. So, when you ask people to help you out with this thing or the next thing they’re always willing to help.”
Like many, Obano feels the sport needs to build itself around the players more and believes documentaries can help in raising players profiles.
He said: “I think if your goal is to grow the sport, content around the sport is crucial. When people go and watch their brother play amateur football, they don’t go and watch them because of the spectacle, they only go and watch them because they’ve got an invested interest in the person that’s playing. So, if you’re able to create content around the players that people have an interest in alongside what they are already entertained by, then you’re able to create a greater interest in the sport.”
Obano previously released Prime documentary “Everybody’s Game” that focused on the sport’s growing diversity and attempt to open avenues into the game for people from a less ‘traditional’ background.
Despite the documentary’s praise, Obano outlines that the best result to come out of it was the partnership he and Anthony Watson now have with Marlborough College.
He said: “The biggest success to come out of that documentary was that Marlborough College has now pledged to send a kid from south London to school every year in perpetuity. They pay for two kids to go to school, one in lower six the other in upper six every year from now on. I get lots of messages from people saying they really enjoyed it, and this is what it did for them, but that outcome is a tangible thing that you can see the impact it brings. It’s a bursary that Anthony Watson and I do to get kids to school, and we now find two kids every year and offer the opportunity.”
Written by Ben Jaycock
