20 Questions: Ollie Thorley – England U20s wing

How’s the Junior World Cup preparation going?
We’ve spent the week in camp in Newcastle and it’s been good. With Martin Haag and Rory Teague taking over as coaches there have been a few changes but it’s all very positive.
What have they brought?
Martin has brought a lot of clarity. He’s very clear about what he wants from us. Likewise with Rory concentrating on the attack. They’re very clear on what they want to achieve and how we’ll do it.
Is that a good thing?
Definitely! We don’t have much time to get ready for the World Cup so the clearer the message the easier it is for us to gel together quickly. We want to throw the ball around while bringing some structure in our defence.
How do you look back at a difficult Six Nations?
We didn’t do as well as we wanted but we’ve put it in the past and only focusing on the JWC. One win in five games doesn’t look great but some aspects of our game were pretty good.
Take any positives from it?
I’ve personally learnt a lot from those difficult times. It brought us a sense of failure maybe some of us had never experienced before. From a team’s perspective, our set piece went OK.
How’s the experienced Premiership midfield coming together?
It’s great to have guys like Harry Mallinder, Theo Brophy-Clews and Johnny Williams in the squad. I’ve been amazed at how quickly we’ve merged together. It’s raising everyone’s game.
What do they bring to the squad?
Playing in the Premiership, myself included, has exposed us to how structured the highest level is. Everyone knows their role and you’ll achieve a team goal only if everyone does his best for the team.
How do you tell that to players who used to be the best in their school team?
There’s a lot of talented players in the squad who maybe didn’t need anyone else to win a game at school. But that’s on an individual level and our biggest challenge is to put all these cogs together.
Have you seen some changes in that aspect?
We’ve made some good progress this week. We’ve all come together and everyone is fighting the same battle and that’s to make sure the team wins the JWC.
Leaving school last summer, did you have to deal with that at Gloucester?
It was hard at first to go from being the main man to one of 40-50 very good players. But I’ve worked hard in training and all the players have been fantastic with me. They’ve made me feel welcome and I quickly felt at home in the squad.
What did you have to learn very quickly?
I’ve worked a lot on my kicking because there’s not much of it at school level. The physicality of senior rugby was another thing but I enjoyed it and adapted pretty quickly.
You must have relished those three Premiership games at the end of the season?
I did have to wait but I eventually got my opportunity and made my Premierhsip debut which I very much enjoyed.
Hungry for more?
When you get a taste of Premiership you just want more and more.
What about Gloucester’s season as whole?
It was disappointing to miss out on the Champions Cup and, even if I didn’t play that much, because of the how the squad treated me I very much felt part of the team and that failure.
Thought about next season already?
I’m just focussing on the JWC for now but after that I’ll evaluate how it went and set my plans with Gloucester.
What were your plans after school?
Study History at University. I’m still keen on doing that to have something to fall back on just in case.
Favourite cheat meal?
I’m usually pretty good but I do like ice cream.
Three dinner guests?
As an historian I’d have Benjamin Disraeli who was a British politician, I’d also like to meet the Queen and Jamie Roberts to have some rugby chat.
Best and worst banter at Gloucester?
I suppose that’ll test how popular I really am in the squad! Richard Hibbard is quite funny but Mark Atkinson can get it wrong.
Best and worst dressed?
Nick Wood always wears the same so he’s the worst but James Hook always looks the part.