Young Gun: Ollie Dawe – Bristol prop

As a young prop Ollie Dawe knows full well the journey to the Premiership will be a long one so he had no qualms about returning to Plymouth Albion to get the experience he desperately needs.
Following an impressive season in National League One with Albion, the 19-year-old joined the Bristol academy and he has been involved in the A-League but breaking into the first team is another challenge and he is aware he might not have the experience required just yet.
So he will return to Plymouth on dual-registration in order to get the game time he needs to learn the dark arts of the scrum.
“I had a good year at Plymouth last year with some great lads so I’m looking forward to going back there and see what I can do,” he told The Rugby Paper.
“I didn’t get a great deal of first-team action with Bristol apart from the A-League so it made sense for everyone involved for me to go on loan to get more game time and continue my apprenticeship.
“I’m hoping to still get involved in the A-League with Bristol but I’m puting my first team ambitions at the back of my mind for now.
“It’s not easy to take but you have to understand as a young prop that it will be on long journey before I can play Premiership rugby.
“That said I’m well up for the fight and having the help of Mark Irish has been brilliant for me.
“He’s showing me the ropes on the field but also off it and we do have long chats about prop life.
“I’ve just got to keep plugging away and learn as I play more games. Repetition is key for a young prop and having that exposure will only make me better even if it means going backwards a few times.”
The more minutes he plays, the more experience he builds and Dawe hopes that will also put him in good stead for England U20s selection come the Six Nations and the World Cup in Georgia next summer.
He said: “I managed to play for England U18s a couple of years ago so I’d love to do it again
“This is my first and last year at this level so the more I play at club level the more chances I’ll have of being selected for England U20s.
“It’d be great to go back to prop against players my own age. The camp we had last month was great because a lot of us came into the squad sharing their experiences from playing senior level with their Premiership or loan clubs.
“Getting that exposure is crucial at our age and you could clearly see everyone had progressed in their own way.
“It’s completely different from the U18s where we only play schools rugby and we don’t really know what it is all about.
“There are five props in the squad and four tend to make the match-days 23 so, hopefully, I can show what I can do with Plymouth and get picked.”