Young Gun: Lewis Ludlow – Gloucester flanker

Lewis Ludlow is still a teenager but if he is to emulate his childhood idols the Gloucester flanker can expect to go all the way to the top.
Ludlow has enjoyed a fruitful 2013, completing the domestic season as Gloucester’s U18 captain and following up a string of England U18 caps with a call-up to the U20 squad.
The 19-year-old made a relatively late start in the game, after dad Paul was hesitant to expose his son to its physical dangers.
However, mum Trudi saw the way Ludlow idolised legendary England back-rowers and gave him the nudge he needed.
“Lewis Moody was always a big part of my life,” he said. “When I was younger I read a book about him – it was the first book I read cover to cover.
“And Lawrence Dallaglio – I read his autobiography. A lot of things he said and did are what I try to do as a person.
“Mum had a massive influence. She was the one who said ‘you can go and play rugby‘. Dad was a bit cautious but she said ‘go on, have a go’.
“My dad and granddad were both massively into rugby but they didn’t want me to get into it too early because of injuries – dad got injured himself when he was quite young.
“When I was about ten or 11 and I thought ‘football’s not for me,’. Ever since, Dad was my coach and it went from there.”
The Ludlow family has ancient ties with Ampthill RFC where the youngster started playing, before getting more involved at Redborne Upper School.
He was coached by his dad at Ampthill, not always an easy experience, but believes Paul’s approach prepared him perfectly to take a step up.
“He was always a lot stricter on me,” Ludlow said. “If there was ever a drill I would practice it at home with him so I already know what I’m doing. It was really good, but hard. He wasn’t just a club coach – he was a full-time coach. I got selected for East Midlands when I was 16 but never really got into the matchday squad and a few people told me ‘if you want to do something with rugby, go to Hartpury College’.
“I wanted to make rugby a profession so I went there for a few trials and Alan Martinovic (director of rugby) must have seen something and invited me to pre-season.
“I started playing for the second team, worked my way through and started the first-team games all last year as vice-captain.”
Ludlow’s transition continued, courtesy of Gloucester’s close ties with Hartpury, and his status as a natural leader was recognised instantly.
It is a quality he didn’t necessarily inherit directly from dad but, like the majority of his rugby, it is something Paul instilled in him early on.
“Gloucester picked me up from Hartpury and said ‘come down and have a few training sessions’ and I went straight into the U18 league as captain,” he said.
“I always captained my club as well and it was sort of between me and Ellis Genge to captain last year.
“As a leader on the pitch, I would probably say it was equal. If Ellis ever had a decision to make he would always look at me first and vice versa if there was ever something I wasn’t sure about.
“From what I have heard, when people talk about him, Dad wasn’t really a leader himself.
“He was more of a player who was quiet, got his head down and just worked but he has always told me that to get places you need to stand out.”