Young Guns
Felix Champain felt his trip to South Africa last month with England U18s was a great indication in what it takes to go far in the sport.
The Harlequins centre/fly-half was part of Jonathan Pendlebury’s squad that toured South Africa for games against Ireland, Georgia and their hosts after making his international age-grade debut back in March against Scotland in Parma.
Champain saw the tour, in which England secured a victory over Georgia sandwiched between defeats to Ireland and South Africa, as a reward for all his hard work and dedication so far in his short rugby career.
Massive Honour
He told The Rugby Paper: “It meant a lot as that’s what I’ve worked for ever since I realised, I was good at rugby and that’s what I’ve trained for, so it was a big honour.”
The next step for Champain following his time in Pendlebury’s setup is the U20s led by Mark Mapletoft, who secured a historic Six Nations and World Championship double this year going unbeaten in 2024.
Champain, like all the U18 squad, was inspired by their elders’ success and hopes to replicate their achievements in years to come.
He said: “I watched quite a bit of it and the vibe passes down to the U18s.
“We take a lot from them in terms of learning, not just on the pitch but off the pitch as well.
“How close they were off the pitch and the bonds they created is probably what we have learnt the most from them.”
Champain is thriving in the coaching environment that has been set up under Pendlebury and assistant Will Parkin.
“It’s very easy to understand, for someone new coming in, tailored down so everyone knows what is going on,” said Champain.
“We have a lot of meetings before training, so when we do get out to train everyone should be on the same page.”
Inspirations
After getting into rugby at the age of five for East Grinstead, he was inspired in the sport by his rugby role model, former England captain Owen Farrell.
He added: “Farrell has been the role model throughout my career as I see myself as quite similar in my game to his in swapping between 10 and 12 quite comfortably and controlling the game and then also in terms of how he leads.”
Despite having Farrell as the main inspiration so far in his career, the young Quins man has other players in the game he looks up to from his time in south west London.
“More recently Marcus Smith is someone I’ve followed closely,” said Champain.
“The energy he brings to a game is impressive, he’s not the biggest guy but he adds so much on the ball in terms of how he beats defenders.
“I also pride myself on my goal kicking, therefore both Farrell and Smith are huge for me in terms of my learnings.
“It’s been a good experience since I joined Quins when I was 14 and I’ve learned quite a lot, and I’ve also made a lot of my close mates through playing at Harlequins so it’s a good place for me to be.”
On the areas of his game, he wants to improve Champain said: “I need to work on my defence quite a bit, I’m trying to get better in that area”, which makes sense for the youngster if he wants to solidify himself as an option at centre as he enters the professional game.
