Player In The Pod - Will Greenwood

In our latest ‘Player in the Pod’ feature we spoke to Will Greenwood to get his take on the whitewash tour to Australia, looking forward to 2017 Lions test series as well as grassroots rugby in particular his new work with NatWest Rugby Force*.

Let’s start with the England tour of Australia. The whitewash in Australia was fantastic to watch by all the fans and the public voted the man of the series James Haskell. Who was your standout player or men of the series?

Owen Farrell. When he moved to the centre in the first test, the game changed. In the third test, he was extraordinary, kicked all the points. Haskell was great but only played in two [of the games]. Owen was there all three and had game-changing influences. Billy Vunipola and the spine of the Saracens’ forward pack were quite exceptional; from Mako to Billy, George to Maro; they all put in wonderful performances.

Great praise for the champions of Europe and England, but what’s your take on the contentious issue of the fly half and inside centre positions?

I think that clearly Owen and George at 10 and 12 is not just a stopgap but a genuine consideration. Someone now has to convince Eddie that they’re a better 12 than Owen, because that partnership and the kicking control that George exerted in the third test was exceptional. Ford pinned Australia back when they looked like coming back into the game, the distribution to set up the Marland Yarde try and the grubber to set up the Jack Nowell try; I think George has grown and loves being part of that England set up.

England appear to be spoilt for choice at present with our options in the centres, what do you make of some of the contenders as well as some of the other new players like Ben Te’o and Ellis Genge, who didn’t get much of an opportunity down under?

Jonathan Joseph, was superb in defence and both Elliot Daly and Henry Slade will keep improving and pushing for a spot. Not forgetting Manu Tuilagi, who needs to become match fit again. However, Burrell shouldn’t be completely discounted. Just because Luther Burrell didn’t quite adjust to the Paul Gustard defence system doesn’t mean you don’t consider Luther again. He was substituted early, but he was substituted because of the patterns being run as opposed to him suddenly becoming a poor player. All these players have the opportunity in September and October to force their way into Eddie’s November plans. I think that’s the beauty of it all, that we have so many options and Eddie seems to get most of the big calls right.

During the successful Australia tour the England Under 20s were also setting the world alight back home by winning the World Rugby Under 20 Championship. Have any of them impressed and earmarked their place in the elite squad in years to come?

Yes. Harry Mallinder has been doing great stuff at Northampton Saints already. He obviously went well. I thought Joe Marchant looks very similar to an Elliot Daly, able to complete an outside break as a 13. Will Evans at 7 was also outstanding in and around the breakdown.

I think we’ve seen that the pathway from the under 20s into the senior side is one that the English organisation now has developed into a nice conveyor belt of top class players.

Just like Maro Itoje and Jack Clifford, many under 20s players and captains have continued to break into the senior squad. The next step up is the Lions tour to New Zealand next year. If you had to pick your starting XV now, would some of the English players have nailed their places?

Yes. I think if you win a Grand Slam and a whitewash series in Australia, you’d be looking at nine or ten lads to be in the starting XV. But it’s the one thing I’ve learned over the years, the side that dominates the year before a Lions tour doesn’t necessarily mean that the following year the team will be full of those same players. All the English lads will testify to the fact that a year is a long time in professional sport.

Given the tour is just under a year away there are a lot of big decisions to be made. First of all must be in regards to the coach. Who would you like to see lead the Lions?

There’s a load of great contenders, obviously. Warren was outstanding in 2013. I’m a big fan of Joe Schmidt, having watched him from the touchline for many years. The immediate impact that Eddie has had on England would be quite an intriguing option.

Finally, from your playing days; what was your favourite tour to go on?

I think probably the short tour to Australia and New Zealand in the summer of ’03. We felt so invincible at the time and came away with two pretty special wins back to back. I never had a bad Lions tour, even though 1997 was the most successful tour I went on, I still had an unbelievable time in New Zealand in 2005, meeting some amazing people and exploring a quite sensational country.

Now let’s move onto grassroots rugby as it is clearly something very close to your heart. Tell us about the NatWest Rugby Force scheme and how your day at Royston has been?

I met with the leadership team and everyone from the new ladies team, to the under 5s all the way up to the first XV. The lovely people at NatWest handed over some money, which has already been spent upgrading their facilities. The basic premise of today was to get involved with Royston and to help where I can; I have a suit and tie ready, a plumber’s wrench ready or my rugby boots; whatever they need I will endeavour to do to the best of my ability!

Grassroots rugby is obviously a passion of yours. Why are you so interested and dedicated to helping the grassroots clubs?

It’s where I started, Preston Grasshoppers. I train with the boys at Maidenhead, I take my kids to Marlow on a Sunday morning; I’m a huge advocate of rugby as a family pastime. As a child you grow up assuming that rugby clubs have lots of money and everything’s fine, but in reality you realise that clubs need funding and support, volunteers and staffing. The older ones of us, with grey hair and wrinkled foreheads, need to work out how to make sure the club is in the best condition it can be to attract even more young children to come and play.

The values of rugby are such a fantastic thing to bring into the community and can appeal to all sections of society.

Absolutely that! It was so enjoyable to see the ladies train and bring a new team to Royston. The little league, the women’s team, the first XV may be different standards but all have the same hope of becoming better players and better people. What I take away from today, more than anything else, is good people. Good people wanting to use rugby as a central facet of the community of Royston. Honestly they are living, walking mother Teresa’s of the sporting world.

*NatWest RugbyForce 2016 Legend Will Greenwood is an Honorary Board Member of Royston RFUC. As part of the NatWest RugbyForce initiative Greenwood will be bringing his rugby knowledge and business experience to help Royston RFUC attract new members and become more sustainable.