JONNOBALDING
England U18s second row Jonno Balding is hoping performances for Radley College can impress his club Gloucester enough to earn a senior academy contract.
Balding was part of the England U18s summer tour of South Africa – his second age-grade tour having been involved in England’s unbeaten Six Nations Festival in Parma earlier this year. England beat Georgia in between defeats to Ireland and South Africa and Balding told The Rugby Paper: “The win over Georgia was massive in terms of getting spirits back up after a frustrating Ireland game. It showed great character from us as a team. We were down 20-10 at the break and I think it was a gFeood test for us. Now we’ve come through that it’ll prove valuable in our learning.
“For a new group, we’ve been very cohesive. There’s a strong sense of brotherhood which is important, especially for a fairly new side like we are. It’s been great to be a part of. I had said before to the new lads coming in that it’s a totally different tempo of game in terms of physicality. The game level is so much higher, it was a shock to me at first.”
Balding preferred cricket growing up but after his move to Radley College in Oxfordshire, which has an impressive oval ball alumni that includes current England prop Will Stuart and former England Sevens captain Andrew Harriman, he began to take rugby more seriously.
He added: “I didn’t play frequently at school from a young age, I was more of a cricketer until I was 13. When I joined Radley College, that’s where I started playing pretty much every day and eventually I got picked up by Gloucester. I was an all-rounder in cricket and I think the hand-eye coordination aspect is important but mostly it was my exposure to sporting competition. I was playing county cricket at a high level, so that was a useful stepping stone going into a professional environment with rugby.”
Balding is enjoying learning from 22-yearold Gloucester lock Arthur Clarke, who broke into the first team aged just 19. He hopes to follow suit and represent the Cherry and Whites at Kingsholm but knows he’s got a lot to learn before then.
“At Gloucester, Arthur is incredibly good,” said Balding. “He’d be a guy that I’d really want to base my game off. On the international stage, I’d say South African locks like Eben Etzebeth are as good as it gets. They are guys that I take a lot of inspiration from.
“The strongest part of my game would be a mix of my physicality and lineout work. I’d say, I read the game well for a forward. Lineout time, I’m a good shape for it but I’d like to think that I’m a good caller as well which is another string to my bow. Due to my height I need to work on getting lower whether that’s in my tackles or at the breakdown.
“The school season is what’s next on the radar ahead of the Academy League. That’s a great opportunity for development over the next four months and I look forward to having the chance to represent my school. It’s a great opportunity to work on the parts of my game that need improvement and put me in strong stead for the Academy League, which starts after Christmas.”
