England“He does a lot of things that other
props don’t do, too. Outside of the
set-piece, he has a high tackle count
and is an aggressive tackler. He’s not
afraid to nominate himself to carry ball
and Quins use him as a ball player off
short lineouts, similar to how Saracens
use Mako Vunipola in the middle of the
field. He gives a well-timed pass, and
we’ve all seen his explosiveness when
he has the ball. He can finish a line break,
which a lot of props can’t. He’s one of
the best tightheads in the world and
has the ability to get in the top three.”
THE TEAM-MATE
Joe Marler has played alongside
Sinckler in the front row for
Harlequins, England and the Lions
“The first time I was aware of Kyle was
seeing him and George Merrick pointing
at the camera in an U20s’ Six Nations
game. I noticed because that’s exactly
what I was like, a gob*e. I thought, ‘I
might have my hands full, a contender
for the biggest k at the club’.
“He was actually quite respectful with
me (when we met). I used to train early
on my own and he asked, ‘Is it okay if
I train with you? If it’s good enough for
Joe Marler, it’s good enough for me’.
I told him not to set his ambition so low!
“He often gets a bit misunderstood.
He can be quite a handful, but that’s
how passionate he is for the sport. He
does have a reputation and he can live
up to that at times, but he’s matured
pretty quickly in the past 18 months if
you look at how he’s been with England.
The more exposure you get at that level
in a starting position, the quicker you
grow up. He’s doing that and England
are starting to benefit from it.
“His biggest strength is people don’t
think he has an understanding of the
game. He’s aggressive and physical,
and people think he’s just all-out
passion and abrasiveness – but he’s not.“He’ll tell the backs, ‘This is a decent
move to try’ and I’d think, ‘Hang on,
you’re a tighthead prop’, but if you listen
to what he’s saying he makes a fair
point. He’s definitely underestimated.
“He wants to be involved in all the big
moments; he’s not happy just to do the
dog work and just do what every other
tighthead does. Now he’s doing the nuts
and bolts – those cliché words – as well
as the X-factor stuff around the park.
“The more exposure you get against
top-level looseheads and questions are
asked of you, the more times you come
up with solutions and adapt. He’s now
had experiences and is improving in
that area. In him and Mako (Vunipola),
England have the best loosehead in the
world and potentially the best tighthead.
Tadhg Furlong is up there now because
of his out-and-out scrummaging ability
as well as everything else, but Sincks is
not too far off. England could have the
two best props in the world soon.“My favourite story about Sincks
comes from the Lions tour. Gats (Warren
Gatland) had been saying pre-tour he
was looking for X-factor, do something
out of the norm. Playing against the
Provincial Barbarians in the first game,
we were jet-lagged and hanging 55
minutes in, looking to get more control
in the game. We got a penalty on
halfway and everyone was thinking, ‘Do
we put it in the corner or go for three?’
Then Sincks took a quick tap and ran
off. He got isolated and turned over.
“I asked him, ‘What the hell was all
that about?’ He said, ‘Gats is looking
for X-factor.’ He was then hauled off
and seeing his face as he went off I
thought, ‘Poor sod’. Fair play, though,
maybe it was X-factor because he was
picked in the match 23 for the Tests!” nTip-top condition
Sinckler at work in the gym