Young Gun: James Lasis – Loughborough Students lock
The unconventional switch happened on October 1 when the Students travelled to Cambridge in the fifth round of the National One season.
With their scrum struggling, former Leicester Tigers hooker George Chuter tried to bulk up his second row and turned to 21-year-old Lasis who, standing at 6ft 5in, at least met the height requirements.
It proved a successful gamble and Lasis, a former UK youth champion in hammer, discus and shot put, stayed in the engine room ever since although he admits to still getting to grips with the fine art of lineout jumping.
“Switching from loosehead to lock has been a big learning curve to say the least,” he told The Rugby Paper.
“George has been the scrum coach at Loughborough this season and he’s also a bit of a mentor to us. He’s great to go and ask questions about what I need to work on.
“To be honest, scrummaging wasn’t easy for me as I had to put my feet quite far back in order to get low enough. I had to move them once I engaged which was quite tough to do.
“Jumping at the lineout has proven quite tricky as I wasn’t used to getting thrown up in the air and often ended up on the floor. It’s quite hard to keep your shape and balance when you’re in the air. It’s funny to have the tighthead, who I used to lift with, now lifting me up.
“There’s a lot more running involved when you play lock and I’ve actually lost over half a stone. I used to be 19st 3lb (122kg) but I’ve dropped to 18st 8lbs (118kg) and I feel pretty good at that weight.
“I played rugby my whole life but when the season finished I used to start the athletic season in the summer.
“I competed last year but I stopped this season to focus on rugby. The explosiveness from the throwing is transferable to rugby and especially when tackling. I find it easier to get in the right stance and then explode to initiate the contact.”
A former Brighton College pupil, Lasis was on the books at Harlequins but rather than join the academy full-time he decided to get his education sorted first, and he is about to complete a Chemistry degree.
Going to Loughborough also gave him the opportunity to get his first taste of senior rugby in National One.
His switch to lock may have been a gamble at first but it proved such a success that a host of Championship clubs are now fighting for his services ahead of next season.
He added: “I have a few offers and I haven’t made my mind up as of yet but I’ll be playing in the Championship next season.
“I’ve got my exams to finish my degree coming up and all the clubs have been very good with me. None of them have tried to rush me into making a decision.
“All I’m looking for really is a good atmosphere and somewhere where I can get some good game time to keep improving.
“I know it’s going to be a big step up so it’ll be down to me to have a good pre-season and work my socks off.”
NICK VERDIER
