Guru Braam van Straaten re-boots Alex Lozowksi’s career path
Lozowski made an immediate impression after coming on and scoring a try as a late replacement for first-choice fly-half Glyn Hughes in Leeds’ opening day defeat to Nottingham.
He has since contributed 50 points to the Carnegie cause from four appearances – the last two being starts following an injury to Hughes.
As well as two tries – the latest in the 60-point Ealing rout, he has kicked all bar three of 19 attempts at goal for an 84 per cent success rate, and Lozowski, son of former England and Wasps man Rob, believes a summer kicking clinic with Van Straaten has helped no end.
“He worked with me, Glyn, the scrum-halves and a few of the Rhinos boys like Kevin Sinfield,” the final year economics student at Leeds University told The Rugby Paper.
“To be honest I’d not heard about him before he came along, but when he was here
I checked out his credentials and saw what he had achieved in the game.
“He’s been working with the Wallabies for the last few years, so obviously he’s got lots of experience and knowledge and being able to tap into that was great.
“From what I’ve heard of him as a player he was able to kick goals from well inside his own half, and a few of the things he taught us in pre-season have definitely helped lengthen our range, which, as a goalkicker, gives you another string to your bow.
“Hopefully, he can come back for another session because we all got such a lot out of it.”
Just over a decade ago Van Straaten enjoyed a hugely successful 18-month spell at Leeds, helping the club to Premiership safety in his first season and fifth-place – and Heineken Cup qualification – in his second.
The South African rescued games for Leeds that would have otherwise been lost through his accuracy in front of goal, garnering 384 Premiership points from 34 league starts in a Tykes jersey.
Van Straaten eventually left for a brief spell at Sale and was replaced at Leeds by Gordon Ross.
Ross, who steered the club to Powergen Cup glory in 2005, has been a hard act to follow, with a number of fly-halves coming and going without making a consistently good impression.
Lozowski, 20, hopes to be the man to end the wait after turning down the chance of a professional career in football with Chelsea, no less, to chase his rugby dream.
“I was at the academy there until I was 16. It was a fantastic set-up and the facilities were second to none,” said Lozowski, who, prior to this season, had made only one first-team appearance – away to Pontypridd in the British & Irish Cup. “However there was no room to balance football with academia.
“It was one thing or the other, and giving up school was never going to be an option for me.
“In rugby you’re given more room to be a rounded individual.
“At Leeds I might miss the odd session because of my studies, but the club is really understanding and supportive even though they are full-time. They realise it is a big final year for me.
“At the same time, I don’t want to take my eye off the ball with rugby. It is just a case of managing my time well and so far it’s going okay.
“If you’d have asked me a couple of years ago whether I’d be a professional rugby player I’d have said that it would be a dream.
“Now it looks like it could happen if I continue to work hard and keep training and playing well.”
JON NEWCOMBE
