Young Gun: Gerard Ellis – London Irish hooker

Glenn Delaney has already converted Tom Youngs from a centre into an international hooker and he is confident he can repeat the trick with London Irish prodigy Gerard Ellis.
Ellis, 19, emerged as one of the hottest prospects in British rugby as captain of Llandovery College, the traditional Welsh schools powerhouse, with five clubs chasing his signature.
He has played nearly all his rugby in the back-row but the option of working with Delaney, who at Nottingham helped to transform Youngs from an aspiring centre into a touring England hooker, proved too good to resist and the respect is mutual.
“You need a couple of ingredients to be able to change position,” Delaney said. “Raw talent and a player who wants to do it. That was the case with Tom. It’s the same with Gerard.
“We’re not saying he’ll never play in the back-row again but in the modern game lineout options are very important and we feel he has all the attributes to be a real success at hooker.
“Sometimes you can fit square pegs in round holes but you need a lot of hard work to get there. When Tom started as hooker at Nottingham he was hitting only 50 per cent of his lineouts, but he kept grafting and finished that season as player of the year.
“Certainly there is no doubting that Gerard’s phenomenally talented – that’s why there were so many clubs after him – and I think it’s testament to Brian Smith’s vision for the club that he chose to come to Irish.”
Nevertheless learning the technical skills of arguably the most demanding position in rugby from scratch is not easy.
Ellis, though, who impressed for Irish in the London leg of the JP Morgan 7s a fortnight ago, is relishing the challenge having being assigned Scott Lawson as a mentor on throwing and David Paice as a scrummaging guru.
“I’ve never really played there before, but I felt Irish offered the best route to transition,” Ellis said. “They aren’t intending on chucking me in straight away, I think I will play some A-League and I might be dual registered somewhere.
“Glenn has done the same with Tom Youngs and that is my inspiration.
“Ultimately I’d like to play like someone like Schalk Brits, popping up all over the field, and if I can help out in the back-row then I will.”
The lofty targets are not unrealistic according to those who have seen Ellis up close and personal.
His coach at Llandovery College, former London Welsh hooker and Quins coach Iestyn Thomas, rates him as the best prospect he has ever seen – and considering he has seen George North, Alun Wyn Jones and Craig Quinnell is some compliment.
And that potential could spark a second stampede for his signature – between Wales and England.
He added: “I can qualify for both through my parents but that’s not a decision I’ll be taking any time soon.
“There’s a long way to go before I contemplate that. I need to concentrate on learning to adapt to a new position.
“There were five offers on the table for me over the summer and it all got a bit confusing.
“They are all promising you different things but having been at Irish for a couple of weeks now I am convinced I made the right choice.”