Young Gun: Billy Walker – England U20s and Saracens prop

Billy Walker might be a year young but the Saracens tighthead hopes his already impressive senior experience will help him make the England U20s No.3 shirt his own during the Six Nations.
The 19-year-old, who was part of England U18s touring party to South Africa last summer, has been training full-time with the Premiership champions while getting some valuable game time on loan with Ampthill in National League One.
He spent last week at Loughborough University for a week-long training camp with England and he is now eager for the Six Nations to start in Scotland on Friday.
“I’m a year young but I hope I can show what I can do and get involved as much as I can during this Six Nations,” he told The Rugby Paper.
“Playing at Ampthill is very helpful for me because it gives me the game time I need to learn my trade. It’s actually my second season in senior rugby as I was on loan at Bishop’s Stortford last season. It was a big step up for me but I’ve learnt so much there being coached by Andy Long.
“You tend to come up against older players in the National Leagues and they know all about the tricks of the trade. I had to learn quickly that there are different ways to do things at senior level.
“Aside from scrummaging, I also like to carry the ball and hopefully that’ll give me an edge to get that No.3 shirt in the Six Nations.
“We have a young squad but we know each other well from our time with the U18s so I’m pretty confident we can show up well in this Six Nations.”
Born and raised in Essex, Walker began his rugby journey being coached by his father at Chelmsford RFC before Saracens came knocking when he was 15.
He subsequently joined the club’s AASE College, Oaklands, and is now a full-time member of the academy.
Once the Six Nations is over, the 6ft 2in 19st 3lb (122kg) prop will be looking to emulate his predecessor, Paul Hill, and make his Premier-ship debut.
He said: “Playing in the Premiership for the first team is my absolute target and I’d love to do it as quickly as I can.
“But I understand that I have to keep playing well while on loan and do what I can with England U20s so when the coaches think I’m ready for the Premier-ship I’m in the best position to grab that chance with both hands.
“Paul Hill showed you can make the step up pretty quickly from age group to senior level but I’m not focusing too much on who was in the shirt before me. I’m just looking to do my own thing and, hopefully, I can achieve something similar to him.”