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21kg shed in 18 months: Will Skelton sacrifices World Cup for Saracens

Saracens forward Will Skelton. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)

Former Wallabies second rower Will Skelton has finalised what he’s described as the toughest decision of his playing career.

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The 27-year-old is expected to sign a two-year contract extension with Premiership club Saracens on the eve of their monumental Champions Cup final against Leinster this weekend in a deal that will rule him out of contention for this year’s World Cup in Japan.

Despite some late persuasion from Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, who is looking to bolster his stocks in the underperforming lock department, Skelton is set to extend his stay in London with the club that has helped him shed 21 of his 140kg in 18 months, propelling him into career-best form.

Starring in an all-star squad that features internationals such as Maro Itoje, Owen Farrell, the Vunipola brothers, Schalk Burger and Liam Williams, Skelton falls well short of the required 60 test caps to be eligible for Wallabies selection while playing overseas, with just 18 tests to his name.

“I had some chats with Cheik at the start of the year and my manager has spoken to him a lot,” he told AAP.

He was trying to get me back home and there were some [Super Rugby] offers but it is difficult because I’ve agreed to stay here.

“There’s still a few bits and pieces to nut down but I am close to signing a new deal here.

“It was a massively difficult decision given the World Cup is this year but if the rules change in the future I’ll always put my hand up to play for Australia.”

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Skelton’s rise to prominence at Saracens hasn’t come easily, however.

Head coach Mark McCall warned his star man upon his arrival at the club in 2017 that he’d never fulfil the potential that he showed when he debuted with the Waratahs at the age of 19 unless he lost some weight.

“Will’s been a revelation since he came over here,” McCall told AAP.

“But he’ll be the first to admit he’s been a bit a slow burner.

“He’s always been a huge talent and able to bring something to a team that other players can’t, not only because of his size but his skill set as well. But what we needed from Will was for him to have a bigger impact in games and the only way to do that was for him to lose some weight.

“He’s done that through his own single-mindedness.

“The club love him, the coaches love him and the players love him, and we want to keep him.”

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After helping steer Saracens to their fourth-ever Premiership crown last season, Skelton’s side look on track to at least seriously challenge for back-to-back titles, but before then, a European showdown with Leinster awaits in Newcastle on Saturday.

Saracens won the last of their two Champions Cups in 2017, and standing in their way of claiming their third European title in four seasons is Leinster forward and Skelton’s former Australian teammate Scott Fardy.

“Fards’ always tough, he is a great player and great bloke, as well,” he said. “He’s gone over there and added value to Leinster and help make them successful.

“It will be a great challenge and I am looking forward to it – these are the games every rugby player wants to play in.”

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Flankly 2 hours ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

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