News & EventsLatest NewsCalendar
Petty gets the England call

Petty gets the England call

Jon Edwards24 May 2019 - 10:34
Share via
FacebookTwitter
https://www.pitchero.com/clubs

Tom Petty admits his selection for England Counties U20s’ tour to Romania later this month, ‘still hasn't fully sunk in’.

The 20-year-old Elthamians hooker (pictured with OEs' other U20s triallist Bobby Bratton) has been named in England’s 23-man squad for the tour which will see two Tests played in Bucharest’s Olimpia Stadium on May 31st and June 4th preceded by a five-day training camp leading up to the First Test.

The players have been selected from across the country, all of whom played in the Jason Leonard U20 County Championship. A divisional camp held at Derby RFC earlier this month saw players selected into four regional divisions and the England management were then able to select a final squad of 23.

It’s a tremendous achievement by Petty, a former student at Trinity School who left two years ago to study Human Sciences at University College London, and just reward after an impressive season for the club’s Development XV and county.

“I was stewing in my university halls, unable to take my mind off the wait to find out if I had got in,” he said. “My dad called to tell me there was a letter with the England Rose on addressed to me. I agreed to Facetime as he opened the letter and read it aloud. All I could do was grin as he read it out. It still hasn’t fully sunk in.”

Petty had to overcome a tough selection process to make the final cut, as he explained. “Last year I played for Kent U20s and trialled for London & South East (LDN&SE),” he said. “This year through university (University College London - UCL) I represented Middlesex and got trials for LDN&SE through them. I was the only Middlesex player to make the final 23-man team for LDN&SE.

“There were three other hookers at the trial. Luckily, I was joined at SE by other OEs boys who had flourished at Kent so I felt right at home in the squad. We went to the regional weekend in Derby where we had unit training and conditioned games followed by matches on the Sunday. Each region brought two hookers so the two spots on the plane to Romania were fought between myself and seven others.

He continued: “This was my first full season playing hooker since U16s so I felt I was unlikely to stand out with throwing alone, although I thought I was the best scrummaging hooker. Two of the other hookers had been with me as England Lambs U18s.”
 
Standing just over 6ft and weighing 98kgs, Petty is relatively small in stature by modern hooking standards, but he is relishing the challenge of coming up against a country with a proud tradition of producing big and powerful front row forwards.

“Having had Liffy [Aaron Liffchak] as my coach at school, a love of scrums has inevitably rubbed off on me,” he said. “I’ve played across the front row and am used to packing down against heavy opposition. Technique coupled with power in my opinion is far more important than weight. The scrummage is a complex area of the game and OEs is a great club to be at for a young front row as there are so many players that are happy to share their expertise.

“Last year, propping for OEs and hooking for Kent I was heavier. This year, with the advice of Nick [McBride] and fellow players, my concentration has been on trying to improve in general as a rugby player, and this will not change. I have had to be totally focused on personal improvement this year. The wealth of hookers at the club meant there was never going to be instant selection success for me at OEs. Once again I am grateful to our forwards who assisted with the rebuilding of my throwing technique. Nathan [Morris] and Preo [Adam Preocanin] in particular have been a great help. A big thank you must also go to Development coaches Andy [Fairley] and Martyn [Sumners]. Next year my commitment will be to become a more complete hooker.”
 
England Counties Under-20s head coach Steve Salvin admits he was very impressed by the talent in the squad. “The work everyone puts in to present us with so many players at such a high standard is staggering,” he said. “After a difficult and tough selection, we have put together a talented squad, and I am really looking forward to working with them on the Romania Tour.”

Further reading