Young Gun: Biyi Alo – Saracens prop

Going backwards to go forward. As contradictory as it sounds it has been the life of tighthead Biyi Alo since he joined Saracens this summer.
In the Sarries set-up for the past five years, the 20-year-old, who stands at 6ft 2in and weighs 18st 10lb, is now training full time with the first team, bringing his scrummaging to a new level after two years with Loughborough University in National League One.
Although Alo reveals he had to take a few beatings from fellow club looseheads Rhys Gill and Richard Barrington at training for the past few months, he is quick to point out that it is all part of the learning curve and his opponents on game day are noticing the improvements.
“I was improving while I was at Loughborough but since joining the Saracens first team full-time I feel like I’ve made massive strides forward,” he told The Rugby Paper.
“Training every day with the likes of Juan Figallo, James Johnston or Kieran Longbottom is helping me massively.
“I spend a lot of time with Juan, in fact, because we both have long legs and I often pick his brain when it comes to the technique he uses and that shows through when I go back to my loan club Old Albanians in National League One.
“It’s good to surprise some of the looseheads who are used to having the upper hand on me.
“I’m now more able to deal with different tricks and know how to counteract them.
“It meant many scrum sessions getting pushed back by the likes of Rhys and Richard but I think I’m getting there. You won’t improve if you’re constantly going forward so it’s something I’ve got to put my body through.
“I sometimes feel down after a tough session but the guys are quick to remind me they were in that position a few years back.
“I try to take positives from every session and I can now give Rhys or Richard a bit more of a fight although I am yet to get one over on them.”
Alo played football until the age of 11 when he joined Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Barnet. That is when he picked up his first rugby ball and he has not looked back since.
After being selected to play for Hertfordshire, Saracens invited him to join their EPDG programme.
England U17s and U18s followed and last June he lifted the Junior World Championship title with the U20s in New Zealand.
Earlier this month, he reached another milestone by making his debut for Saracens in the LV=Cup. He is now eying the Premiership and potentially England but, true to himself, there is no timeframe for it.
He said: “It was a great experience to make my debut against Harlequins in the LV= Cup. It made me hungrier for more to be honest.
“But I’m not the type of person who has specific targets. The LV= Cup was a big target for me but I never said I wanted to play in a specific game.
“My long-term goal is to play in the Premiership and for England but there is no deadline for it.
“I’m much more focused on getting all the little things right at training.
“It was the same with the England age group teams. I just worked hard and it came as a result of it but I never put too much pressure on myself to make the team.
“I reckon that I can still be a much-improved prop even if I don’t play in the Premiership this year.”
NICK VERDIER