Perched on an armchair around the corner from the library in England’s team hotel, Ben Earl is in a reflective mood. At 27, this is no wizened or weather-beaten veteran, but the years have developed a sager head than might first appear – and a former student of comparative literature is happy to chronicle chapters past, present and future after a year that has changed his outlook on his chosen pursuit and, in a way, life itself.
With an air of quiet contemplation that belies his role as England’s action-man on the pitch, there is the odd stroke of the chin from the flanker as he picks up a conversation that began in Sydney in the wake of the third British and Irish Lions Test and a tour that challenged his notions of perfect preparation. “I loved it,” he beams of a long-coveted experience that surpassed his expectations. “I learnt so much. It changed my perspective on a lot of things.
Mid-tour, Earl confessed to previously believing one must live like a monk to get the best out of oneself; as he returns to England camp, it is with a different approach. Training time remains important, he stresses - but not everything. “Just get out of your own way and go and play rugby. You almost want to go back to how you were at school – you’d have geography at one o’clock and then be playing rugby against whoever at three. Things like that renew your love for the game.”
Not, Earl is quick to clarify, that he ever really lost it. Certainly, nobody who has ever watched him on the pitch would claim the back rower to be doing anything without relish. England’s energiser at the base of the scrum is all but certain to resume a No 8 role this autumn with his usual bold belief both in himself and his side; the target after a year of significant collective progress is four wins from four this November.
There is a slight sense, speaking to Earl, that even a 41-cap international of paramount importance to his side still believes he needs to kick on again at the highest level. It is nearly five years now since an England debut off the bench in the Six Nations that began a run of 15 straight caps as a replacement to begin his career.
Now firmly established as a starter, how does Earl reflect on those early days? “Making my England debut was the best time of my career, but for me it probably came…” A pause. “I don’t want to say too early, because I wouldn’t change my journey. But my appreciation of playing for England through Covid and being in lockdown, stuck in hotels…you can lose sight of why you are doing it. You don’t realise what you miss until it is taken away from you.”
Earl’s role has evolved since those early days. Once England’s hotshot, he is now some eight years the senior of new club and country colleague Noah Caluori – and perhaps, having taken time to fully find his footing internationally, a cautionary tale. “Hype is a horrible word. I would never say that I got any of the hype that some of these young guys have.
“But it’s not really fair. You look at these players, and my admiration for an Owen Farrell, a Jamie George and a Maro Itoje, who I know first-hand, and then some of the guys like Courtney Lawes and Ben Youngs, those guys who have churned out season after season of elite performances – it is so hard to do. Until you see it firsthand, it is mind-blowing.
“That’s why I’d be so cautious heaping praise or expectation on these young guys who have only played a year or two of rugby. You will learn more from failure, from injury, from selection, from being out of form. That’s the stuff that, then, ten years down the line, you look back and think, ‘that was the best thing for me’. Let these guys go and enjoy being part of this. Because expectation brings burden.”
I suggest, then, that life for a young athlete has never been tougher – an insatiable audience is ever more demanding, yet the sting of social media can pierce even the thickest skin. Earl may be showy at times on the pitch, but is not of the view that he should overly focus on crafting his public persona off it. “It’s not really in my nature. I’m quite happy with my mates and what they think. But that is what the world demands of these athletes now. I think that will become less tricky – these young guys coming through will be used to that expectation. I don’t think I feel the negatives. I love reading it all. I think it’s funny.”
A regular church-goer, Earl’s faith gives him a grounding he sometimes needs; with ambitions to shave his handicap down to scratch by next summer, golf is also a useful switch-off, with post-Lions rounds at TPC Sawgrass and Wentworth readily enjoyed.
Now, though, it is back to the day job – or day jobs, perhaps, given the 27-year-old’s versatility. The exiling of Tom Willis from Steve Borthwick’s squad seems to make Earl a snug fit in the No 8 shirt, but opportunities on the flank and in the centres will continue to come. Asked to discuss the demands of his dual role, Earl interjects with a point of semantic clarification. “I hate the term hybrid – it’s a golf club.
“But I definitely think we’ll see more players doing it. In terms of cognitive load, what you do at 12 or 13 and what you do in the back row [is similar]. The only technicality is really defending off scrums. With a little bit more exposure over the last year or so, I feel more comfortable than ever doing that. It’s a good string to my bow, and the team’s bow – you are starting to see a couple of boys who could do that. I think Henry [Pollock] would be well suited to that.”
Pollock is one of a number of younger contenders nipping at Earl’s fast-moving heels – as a matter of happenstance, the granite-carved Guy Pepper wanders past during our conversation, drawing a quip: ‘He’s a bit of a specimen, isn’t he?” It underlines that even a two-Test Lion like Earl cannot afford to sit on his haunches.
“This group feels like it has a brand new lease of life. We had an amazing Six Nations, people went off and did their own thing with the Lions, but those that stayed involved arguably had the result of the summer, 2-0 against Argentina. The standard to be in this team now is incredible.
“Success probably goes hand in hand on a personal and team level. Personally, there is loads left in me. I look at what some of the boys are doing now at my position across the world and in the Prem. I’ve got to step up another gear. I’d love to be mentioned in World XVs, and the nature of how my last 12 months have gone means that I have probably fallen out of that discussion. It’s not something I’m going to be reading the tabloids on, but I want to compare myself to the world’s best.” The next chapter may just be even better than the last.
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Lewis Moody set for emotional Twickenham return after MND diagnosis
Noah Caluori named in England squad for Quilter Nations Series
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