I’d say ‘no’ to the Boks, I want to play for England
NICK CAIN TALKS TO WORCESTER TIGHT-HEAD NICK SCHONERT
NICK Schonert does a great impression of being an immoveable object, and he gets the opportunity to practice it most weekends when he packs down at tight-head in the Worcester Warriors scrum.
The South African-born prop's other best impression is an unshakeable allegiance to England, the land of his mother's family — so much so that Schonert, a 6ft 2in and almost 19 stone (120kg) human breeze-block, says he would turn down a Springbok cap for the honour of wearing the Red Rose.
While that may be the worst form of rugby heresy to many South Africans, Schonert, 25, is not shifting. I have never heard an overseas-born player be as passionate or definite in describing his reasons for wanting to play for England as Schonert, who joined the Warriors three years ago having played for the Sharks, after progressing through their academy to play for South Africa U20 in the 2011 World Junior Championships.
“You cannot say just because you were born somewhere that it is where you belong. My dad is German, and my mother's family is from England.
My mum has a British passport, and my grandmother was born in Reading.
Home is where the heart is, and I feel my heart is in England. I see it as my home, and if you offered me a South Africa No.3 jersey now I'd say ‘no' because I want to play for England.”
Schonert already has one foot in the door having been called into the England squad for the summer tour to Argentina, but he explains that a broken finger sustained at the end of the season eventually proved so troublesome that he was forced to stand down.
“I was involved in all the England fitness and gym sessions at Pennyhill Park in the build-up to the Barbarians match and the tour. I was doing controlled work because I had injured a finger on my left hand in April, and it could not just be strapped because I used it for my inside bind onto the hooker. I was told it would take eight weeks until the ligament healed, and unfortunately I ran out of time.”
Schonert meets the suggestion that it must have been a sickener to miss the tour and the strong chance of winning a first cap against the Pumas by saying that he he turned the negative into a positive.
“More than anything it was a massive wake-up call, because if you want to represent your country you have to be at your optimum – your best – and the way they train, the intensity of it, makes you realise what is required.
It's made me more hungry to play international rugby, and I've gone away and really worked hard on my conditioning. In fact, the day after I had the conversation with Eddie Jones to say I could not go to Argentina I was out on the pitches at the Warriors training hard.”
Commitment is a recurrent theme when you talk to Schonert, and he talks openly about the bonds he has formed with England and Worcester. You are left with the strong impression that while speculation swirls around he club's owners, Sixways Holdings, looking to sell up after losing more than £16 million over the last three seasons, their tight-head prop is not looking for another move.
He says that having been Durban born and raised, and attended Maritzburg College –which also produced World Cup-winning Springbok flyhalves Joel Stransky and Butch James – his decision to leave South Africa was not linked directly to issues like SA rugby's race quotas, or the high crime rate in the country.
“They did not affect me, and they are not why are left. Even so, it's nice to know when you go to bed at night that there is not someone fiddling with the locks on your front door. The main reason is I love it here. Worcester is a great small town, and a lovely area in which to live. You can just be yourself, and everyone is very liberal and understanding. There's no hate among people here, and you can go about your life in a friendly atmosphere.
“I do a lot of trout fishing – I'm out there every Wednesday. It's my main hobby, and if I go to see my brother, who is a personal trainer in Aldershot, I take my rod with me and find somewhere to fish nearby. I did a lot of sea fishing back in Durban. I also did a bit of surfing, but it was not my goto thing.”
Schonert's go-to thing is putting down a rock-solid platform for his team to play from, and his straightbacked scrummaging and powerful carrying was an essential part of Worcester staying clear of the relegation zone that claimed Bristol last season.
It is intriguing that Schonert, who is the same size as England incumbent Dan Cole, sees himself more as a trim technician than a super-heavyweight bruiser. However, you can see his point when he says that many of the fridge sized tight-heads in the French Top 14 are often 25kg (over three stone) heavier than he is.
“I'm not a really big guy so I use a lot of technique, and that's where Mefin Davies, the Worcester forwards coach, has helped so much. I'm small compared to those French props.
There are tight-heads out there like Census Johnston (Toulouse) and Uini Atonio (La Rochelle) who are 145kg (23st 2lbs). I don't have that sort of weight – I'm more of a counter-puncher who uses technique to beat size.”
Ask Schonert where he is in the England tight-head pecking order, with Cole and Kyle Sinckler going with the Lions last summer, and Harry Williams and Tim Collier making their England debuts in Argentina, and he says there is still opportunity.
“The big problem is we started trying to chase the game to fix things. All it took to change that is a conversation, and a slap on the wrist. So, it's not something that will take a year to fix. We had Newcastle very comfortably contained at the set piece, and it wasn't so much them being class as it was us giving them chances. I don't want to take anything away from Newcastle – they deserved to win because they finished their chances very well – but at Worcester we've got great coaches, great players, and a great facility And we are going out to win against Wasps.”
”It's hard enough to breathe during a match, let alone walk the day after. But I enjoy going to dark places!”
He adds: “There is no time for weakness. Wasps are a class, welldrilled outfit, but you want those games in order to test yourself. Worcester can you pull clear of the relegation zone this season like Newcastle did last time. The good thing about the Premiership is that it is not predictable. A few seasons ago Bath were second from bottom and now they are at the upper end of the table.
“We are all competitors and have aspirations to be at the top – and if we gain in confidence we build from there. Every team is only as good as its weakest link, and everyone has to bring something.”
As for making improvements in his own game, Schonert says that the tutelage from former Wales hooker Davies has been invaluable.
“At the Sharks I went on tour with Springboks like Jannie and Bismarck du Plessis, and when you are with that calibre of player you get to learn off them, but the biggest influence for me has been Mefin. He has great knowledge of the game and has helped me with scrum technique, as well as being a great support whether it's on or off the field. He drives to the club from Wales every day, and is one of the most committed guys there is in rugby.
“Mefin's building his own house, and I'm learning a trade as a plumber. So far, he hasn't asked me to help him–maybe if I did he'd have a few leaks to deal with! Joking aside, it's quite good to have something other than rugby in your life. This is my first year on the course, and I attend it twice a week with Perry Humphreys and Darren Barry. On Tuesdays we do theory and on Wednesdays practical, I really enjoy it and should qualify this time next year.”
Schonert is even more effusive about his day job as a prop, to the extent of making light of Maro Itoje's studs slicing open his cheek in a freak accident against Saracens two years ago. It took 40 stitches to close a gaping wound that has left him scarred, but the Worcester No.3 is undaunted.
“Girls love scars. That's it, done and dusted,” he says. Not as much, however, as Schonert loves playing tight-head. This is apparent when he ponders why they have become the game's most valuable players, and whether physical demands that equate to carrying a people-carrier on your back on match days mean that he has trouble walking the next day.
“It's a tough position because you are involved at every scrum, line-out and ruck. It's hard enough to breathe during a match, let alone walk the day after. But I love it – I enjoy going to the dark places!”
Nick Schonert is in love with being a scrum monster, and with being English, and those are good reasons why his Red Rose dream could blossom.
