By BEN JAYCOCK
Cameron Miell is South African born and bred but the Leicester prop is fully committed to England, eagerly anticipating his first opportunity to pull on the Red Rose.
Tigers snapped up Miell, who had just graduated from famous South African rugby school Paul Roos, at the start of this year and after joining the club’s senior academy the tighthead made his first team debut in the Premiership Cup against Bedford Blues earlier in the season.
The 19-year-old is a versatile forward who played across the pack at school level. It hasn’t been smooth sailing since his arrival as a nasty hamstring tear halted his progress but things are now looking up for both club and country.
Miell told The Rugby Paper: “Getting here was quite tough, I came this time last year so straight into the cold English winter. Lewis Chessum took me under his wing and showed me the ins and outs. Being in the boarding house with quite a few second years means we’re a tight group and it’s always a good time. The coaching staff are exceptional, there are always one-on-one chats about how you’re doing and any work ons.”
Miell qualifies for England through his English-born father and has family in Southampton that he visits when possible but revealed he had no intentions of pulling on the white jersey when he arrived earlier this year.
However, witnessing the passion of the England age grade players Chessum and Joseph Woodward at Tigers has inspired Miell to follow in their footsteps and he participated in England U20s first meeting of the season in Portugal earlier this month.
“It’s been a whirlwind of emotions,” said Miell. “I put down the goal of making U20s and I got injured during pre-season so I was a bit down after tearing my hamstring. I took that time as an opportunity to work harder in the gym and on smaller aspects of the game. Since I’ve made it the lads have been great and we’ve got a really tight group this year with great coaches. I’m looking forward to the Six Nations.”
England and South Africa have been fierce rugby rivals for over a century meaning Miell’s decision won’t be welcomed back home but the beefy 6ft 1in, 17st 3lb forward is certain it’s the right one.
He added: “I feel this is on the path that has been set out for me and I couldn’t be more honoured to represent England. If I was to be selected for the U20s World Championship next summer and we played South Africa there would be a lot of emotions but this is my path and I know I’m going to give it my all. I’m all English at this point, yes I’m South African by blood but I’m here now.” Niell is a no nonsense forward that prides himself on his determination and unseen work and says that part of his game derives from his childhood heroes, back-toback World Cup winners Malcolm Marx and Pieter Steph du Toit.
He said: “I always admired the workhorses like Marx and Pieter Steph, the guys who weren’t necessarily scoring the tries or had highlight reels on social media but more the people in the background. Seeing how many times they hit rucks and their work around the field inspired me a great deal.”
