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QQQ Daily Mail, Thursday, August 8, 2019
Rugby UnionHE’S LIKE
A KID IN A
SWEET SHOP
Those who know England’s
World Cup bolter McConnochie
say even he is amazed by his
sudden shot at stardom...
SPECIAL
REPORT
by WILL
KELLEHER
WATSON THANKS DAD FOR ‘KICK UP BACKSIDE’
By CHRIS FOY
and WILL KELLEHERH
E WAS once asked
to be Bastian Sch-
weinsteiger’s body
double and was
dressed as a Harry
Potter character when
called up by Eddie Jones.
From the fifth tier of English
rugby to a shot at the World Cup,
via the Olympic Games and just
one season in the Premiership,
Ruaridh McConnochie does not
have your typical rugby story.
So how did a lanky, sports-mad
but socially-awkward lad from
Kent become England’s potential
bolter pick for Japan?
McConnochie’s first inkling he
would be involved in pre-tourna-
ment training came on the
Sunday after Bath’s last match of
the season in May. He and the
squad were on an ‘all-dayer’ to
Bristol, heroes and villains the
fancy dress theme.
‘Ruaridh (pronounced Rory)
was dressed as Voldemort when
Eddie Jones rang!’ recalls team-
mate and Welsh legend Jamie
Roberts. ‘A nice moment. As we
got off the train everyone was
shaking his hand.’
If that was the start of a new
chapter, McConnochie’s book
begins in Tenterden, Kent.
Born to Scottish parents and
with two brothers — Jamie,
two years older, and Cal-
lum, two years younger —
he attended Cranbrook
School and later joined
London Scottish.
Those school days have
stuck with the utility
back. There is a picture
that sits proudly
on his father
Rennie’s fridge
of the moment
all three
boys playedtogether for Cranbrook.When
asked to bring a favourite rugby
memento into the England camp
by Jones, McConnochie, 27, took
that picture from the fridge, not
his Olympic silver medal from the
Rio Games (below).
‘That’s awesome,’ says Phil
Llewellyn, McConnochie’s former
club and university coach, when
told that story. ‘It shows how
grounded they all are.’
Dad Rennie was a cult hero on
the Sevens circuit, following his
boy around the world from 2015
to 2018.
‘There’s a Rennie-shaped hole
in the crowds now!’ Tom Mitchell
the England and GB Sevens
skipper says. ‘He was mostly
cheering for us when Ruaridh was
playing against Scotland!’
One incident tested that,
though, when McConnochie faced
Scotland in Dubai.
Llewellyn relays the story: ‘Obvi-
ously Rennie is a big Scotland
fan, so there was a bit of a con-
flict. Ruaridh scored in the
corner and Rennie was going
absolutely mental saying,
“This is wonderful, but my
English son has just
knocked Scotland out! I’m
never going to be allowed
back into Scotland again!”’
It took a while for
McConnochie to reach
Sevens fame, though.
He was never
selected for even a
county side as a
teenager, let alone
an academy. Aftera gap year teaching and playing
for Rangataua in New Zealand,
McConnochie read sport and
exercise science at the University
of Gloucestershire.
Llewellyn used to drive him
three hours each way on week-
ends to play for Nuneaton, in the
Midlands Premier of National
Three. ‘He’d never played senior
rugby, but within the first couple
of weeks he was playing as he
does now — with a smile on his
face,’ says his mentor.
‘I don’t think he liked it when I
compared him to Iain Balshaw,
but Ruaridh has always had a
glide and silkiness like him — youell. ‘He looked a bit out of place,
but with ball in hand he
was unbelievable at beating
defenders.
‘He was happy just to pick up a
load of free kit when selected in
the Sevens squad! When you’ve
paid subs to play, anything more
is a bonus!
‘He’s held on to that perspec-
tive. He’s a good bloke, never too
big for his boots.’
At 6ft 3in and 14 st 7lb, his
unusual physique soon brought
McConnochie some strange
requests.
‘Ruaridh was approached to be
a body-double for Bastian Sch-
weinsteiger in a photo-shoot for
an advert,’ laughs Luke Treharne
— the Wales Sevens skipper and
McConnochie’s mate.
‘He’s like some of the Pacific
Islanders; they’re the most lovely
blokes off the pitch but you step
on the Sevens field and know
you’re in a game!’
While the Olympics loomed in
2016, it was never on McConno-
chie’s radar. He travelled as a
reserve for the Games but never
felt worthy — which baffled his
team-mates.
‘He said, “I shouldn’t be here,
I’ve only been on the World Series
for a year”,’ says GB’s other
reserve Treharne. ‘Everyone said,
“What are you on about mate?
You’ve been awesome all year”.
He’s still a bit star-struck playing
for Bath!
‘I was gutted to be a reserve but
he thought it was class. We went
to the kitting-out day and
because we weren’t in the mainteam we weren’t allowed to have
the same gear as the others.
‘I was moping, but Ruaridh was
the happiest man in the world!
There was so much positivity it
wore off on me in the end.’
With Alex Davies injured,
McConnochie was called into the
final 12 at the last minute.
‘Ruaridh is incredibly awkward
meeting new people!’ Mitchell
says. ‘He’s one of the biggest
sports fans ever. In the Olympic
village it was awesome. We were
rubbing shoulders with Andy
Murray and Mo Farah.
‘Ruaridh was too nervous to
talk to anyone, but was in awe.
He comes out with random stats.
One for the pub quiz sport round!’
Mitchell also admired how
McConnochie supported his
girlfriend, Vicki — now a qualified
policewoman — who overcame
cancer last year.
‘He was brilliant throughout,’
says Mitchell. ‘So strong — but
more than that, very impressive
around that situation.’
After winning Commonwealth
Games bronze with England
Sevens, he changed codes. Bath
picked him up last summer and
the ‘kid in the sweet shop’ — as
Llewellyn describes him — imme-
diately impressed. With Joe Coka-
nasiga with England and Semesa
Rokoduguni injured, he had his
shot on the wing.
‘He’s absolutely rapid,’ says
Roberts. ‘He reminds me of Alex
Cuthbert when he arrived on the
scene. His pace and ability to
change direction are frightening.’
Last year McConnochie paid to
watch the Premiership final at
Twickenham, doubting if he could
make the transition to XVs.
This Sunday he could well face
Wales at Twickenham, and on
Monday be named in England’s
World Cup squad — five years on
from nights at Nuneaton.He looked out
of place, but
with the ball —
unbelievable
think he looks easy to tackle, but
he’s deceptive. His scoring rate
for Nuneaton was pretty much a
try a game. Prolific.’
A breakthrough soon came.
McConnochie trialled for England
students in 2013 aged 21, but
missed out to Simon Hammers-
ley, now Sale full-back.
A year later and GB Students
Sevens came calling, and at the
world championship in Brazil he
scored twice off the bench to win
Britain the title against Belgium.
He was given a one-week trial
with the full England Sevens side
and was a fully-fledged World
Series star by 2015.
‘I remember thinking when he
first came, “He’s a spindly, lanky
specimen!”’ says captain Mitch-Fighting fit: WatsonANTHONY WATSON, England’s
forgotten man, has credited his
dad Duncan for getting him back
in the World Cup picture after
months of injury misery.
The Lions wing hopes to face
Wales at Twickenham on Sunday
and force his way into Eddie
Jones’s squad. He has not played
for his country since suffering a
serious achilles injury in March
last year and the 25-year-old
spoke yesterday about thetoughest times in his drawn-out
rehabilitation process.
‘Over the 13 months, I’d say there
were two or three days where
I was like, “This is a nightmare”,’
he said. ‘I texted my dad saying
I was struggling and he just
replied, “Mate, you’ve got to get
on with it or you’ll never play
rugby again”. You can’t hit homemore than that. That was a real
kick up the backside.’
Watson knows that reputation
alone can’t help him reclaim his
England place, adding: ‘I don’t
think you can rely on credit in
the bank. You’ve got to earn it. If
I play on the weekend, it’s about
putting my best foot forward.’
England are ready to include
uncapped Kiwi scrum-half Willi
Heinz in their squad for Japan on
Monday — a day after he makeshis belated Test debut at the age
of 32. Gloucester’s imported
captain is due to play against
Wales and he has made such a
positive impression on Jones and
the other coaches that they are
ready to take him to the World
Cup as an understudy to Ben
Youngs. Heinz moved to the West
Country from his native
Christchurch in 2015 — a year
after playing against England for
the Crusaders.Heavy going:
McConnochie
training with
England GETTY IMAGESENGLAND
v WALES
Kick-off: Sunday, 2pm, Twickenham.
TV: LIVE on Sky Sports Action
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