Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Junior Kpoku: 'That wasn't down to me, it was all behind closed doors'

Junior Kpoku sings the England national anthem (Photo by Bob Bradford/CameraSport via Getty Images)

Unbelievable is a word that the delightfully giddy Junior Kpoku canโ€™t stop himself from using over and over and over again when reflecting on his rumbustious, career-making year. Fresh out of Finborough School, the 18-year-old signed on the dotted line last August to serve his professional apprenticeship at Rob Baxterโ€™s Exeter. The dramatic thing is, he wasnโ€™t long packing up again in Devon and taking a giant October leap across the Channel. Stuart Lancasterโ€™s Racing 92 had made an offer he couldnโ€™t refuse, especially with a family illness unfolding.

ADVERTISEMENT

Eight months later, he was striding across a hotel lobby in downtown Cape Town, giddy to tell RugbyPass about the wonder of it all, a double-jobbing spring where he made his Top 14 debut in a Parisian pack that included Siya Kolisi and also helped England U20s to impressively snatch Six Nations glory with a flourish down the road in Pau, the Pyrenees city that will be home for Kpokuโ€™s older brother Joel in 2024/25.

Racing lost the derby at home in Kpokuโ€™s French top-flight debut and they were beaten again the following week when he came off the bench at Bordeaux, but youโ€™d never tell he was 0/2 in his 22-minute Top 14 involvement going by the enthusiastic nature of the lockโ€™s bubbly patter.

Video Spacer

HITS, BUMPS AND HANDOFFS! | The biggest collisions from the U20s World Championships

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected
      Video Spacer

      HITS, BUMPS AND HANDOFFS! | The biggest collisions from the U20s World Championships

      โ€œItโ€™s beautiful,โ€ he beamed, describing the magnetism of the Top 14 with a huge smile. โ€œCompared to the Premier League in the UK, itโ€™s a whole different ball game. The physicality, the speed of it is much quicker. Physicality is unbelievable. It was over the moon when I was playing against Stade Francais at home, making my debut at home with mum and dad. It was unbelievable playing with big names in the Racing team and opposite us. It was unbelievable really.โ€

      Was he nervous? โ€œ100 per cent, especially when you are waiting for Stuart to say, โ€˜Go on, Junior, youโ€™re getting on nowโ€™. You go, โ€˜Okay, cool. Letโ€™s go and get the job doneโ€™.โ€ Memories of what quickly unfolded remain vivid. โ€œI got the ball down the wing, just legged it really and got tackled in the 22,โ€ he said before describing the subsequent involvement that was his welcome to the big time. โ€œHaving (Sekou) Macalou run at me at full pace was oomph, he is a strong boy. I got him down, of course, but he is strong boy.โ€

      You get the affirming sense that Kpoku can only rapidly develop given his grand surroundings, which include a stellar cast on and off the field. โ€œSiya is a big role model to me personally and to the team with his voice,โ€ he said in praise of the South African double-winning Rugby World Cup captain.

      โ€œHe is unbelievable. Itโ€™s like a dream come true playing with one of the best rugby players in the world. Winning back-to-back World Cups in unbelievable. Playing for the Springboks and playing at the Sharks (before that), he has just given me so many details into my clearouts, my lineouts, into tackling, carrying, all this stuff he has given me. I take it with two hands really.

      ADVERTISEMENT

      โ€œSome of it is more personal, itโ€™s behind closed doors what he says really. But itโ€™s a dream come true playing with him and his co-World Cup winner Trevor (Nyakane), Gael Fickou, Cameron (Woki), Henry Arundell, all these names. Itโ€™s unbelievable. Itโ€™s (about) taking it with two hands.โ€

      The unbelievables keep on coming. โ€œHaving Stuart Lancaster, Yanick (Nyanga), Dimitri (Szarzewski), Freddie (Michalak), all these big names coaching us, is unbelievable. The amount of information they give you on and off the pitch to become a better rugby player is unbelievable.

      โ€œFreddie with his strike plays, how you are meant to run and if you are in defence, what you are reading when they are giving you a picture. And Dimitri in lineouts has given me the opportunity to better read the lineout and it helps what Iโ€™m doing with England.

      โ€œItโ€™s going to be really good to see what the team can do. Hopefully we can win the Top 14 next year. Next year we know we have got a lot of work to do, that is what our goal is really with all the players. Head down, try and win the Top 14. Thatโ€™s the goal.

      ADVERTISEMENT

      โ€œI have signed for three years, going into my second year now and we will see what happens. Itโ€™s unbelievable. Stuart has spoken to me what he wants to see in this World Cup and what he wants and expects from me when I get back into pre-season. Hopefully I can deliver and prove I can do the job for the team.

      โ€œMy French is really good. 100 per cent. Living with my dad and my mum is based in the UK. The people, the culture is much different to the UK as in everyone is more friendly. The rugby environment is more friendly. I donโ€™t know how it is in the UK now because I was only in a professional environment at Exeter for three months, I didnโ€™t really get the feel.

       

      View this post on Instagram

       

      A post shared by Junior Kpoku (@junior_kpoku)

      โ€œBut in Racing, everyone is on the same level. There isnโ€™t any big dogs. Everyone just goes and sees the same physio unless you are espoir and you go and see a different physio. Everyone is on the same level really. So everyone is grounded, gets the work done really.โ€

      When he debuted for Exeter off their pre-season bench versus Bristol, calling Paris La Defense Arena his home was something unimaginable for Kpoku. โ€œIt was due to the family really,โ€ he explained, taking up the story. โ€œMy dad was really ill and my agent contacted me, โ€˜There is a massive opportunity ahead of youโ€™.

      โ€œI wanted to see what the opportunity was and I took it with two hands and looked after my family. It was basically a family decision really. France wasnโ€™t really on my mind when I went there to Exeter. It was mostly getting involved with England, playing my games with Exeter as it was a good club to be at.โ€

      The curious thing is that he is still permitted to be involved with England even though he is now based in France and already a first-team Top 14 player months before his 19th birthday in September. There have been multiple headlines about other players sacrificing their Test careers to take up offers in the French leagues.

      Thereโ€™s Jack Willis, for instance, the back-rower who capped his first season in France by added Top 14 glory on Friday night in Marseille to the Champions Cup title he had helped Toulouse to win last month. They are off-limits to Steve Borthwickโ€™s squad due to the RFU regulation that you must be based in England in order to be selected at Test level.

      That restriction doesnโ€™t apply at age-grade level, leaving Kpoku in the privileged position where he has been jumping on the train from Paris to London and hooking up with Mark Mapletoft England U20s squad. โ€œThat wasnโ€™t down to me,โ€ he said about the decision taken over his eligibility to play for his country despite Racing โ€“ and not a Gallagher Premiership club โ€“ paying his wages.

      โ€œIt was all behind closed doors, Iโ€™ve got nothing to do with that. I just still have the opportunity to play really. I donโ€™t know. I take it with two hands, itโ€™s a brilliant privilege to be still able to wear the England shirt even though I am based in France. I take it with two hands.โ€

      A Test rugby decision will surely come in time, though. โ€œYeah, yeah, everyone asks me where do you see yourself, youโ€™re playing U20s, are you getting involved in Steveโ€™s team? Itโ€™s a card probably on the table maybe. I just need to settle down, play my rugby and that will look after itself and we will see what happens in the near future.โ€

      Reflecting on his first year in France, Kpoku would recommend it as a pathway for fellow England youngsters. โ€œ100 per cent. In the UK if you are singing at a club you need to make sure it is the right club for you. You know you are going to get some game time but I know in France you are in the espoirs and are playing every weekend at a good high level with pro players who havenโ€™t got selected to play first team.

      โ€œThatโ€™s one reason why I chose to go to France because I am playing every week with my club, not on loan to another club and when I come back to my club I need to learn and catch up (like in England). Everything at Racing is the same, from the first team to the espoirs, 18s, 17s, 16s, we all play the same rugby so it is just fluent when you step up.โ€

      It was rugby league where Kpoku took his first rugby steps. โ€œIt started when I was about seven at London Skolars where Dave Roberts invited me and that is when my rugby took off. I was then invited to the Sarries when I got to 13 years old, that is when I got into their development programme stuff and that is when age-grade took over as well. At Skolars you could just fly into tackles really. It was lovely just flying into tackles, taking people out really. Thatโ€™s what I loved and it has now taken me to where I am.

      โ€œThe U20s came a year early. I never thought of playing U20s. I just thought I was going to make it into 18s and see where my rugby takes me but this is unbelievable playing with the U20s and winning a Six Nations with them was unbelievable. Such a good group of boys here.

      โ€œIt was such a good game to play (in France in March). Everyone just unleashed themselves, as in everyone knew their roles, everyone just wanted to win. If we lose, weโ€™re not winning the Six Nations. Everyone just had that mindset of keep going boys, weโ€™re in this, we can win it and we won it. Unbelievableโ€ฆ it just shows how much talent we have in our team and itโ€™s interesting to see what we can do in a World Cup really.โ€

      Kpoku is a religious soul. โ€œ100 per cent. He does everything, glory to him really. Glory to God. When we get to the stadium, for a good 10 minutes I start listening to him, praying and yeah, when itโ€™s time to go out Iโ€™m switched on and he is right behind me and looking after me.โ€

      The surest thing you can say about Kpoku is that he is a big boy. โ€œAlways, always, always,โ€ he chuckled. โ€œU13 I was probably a foot taller than everyone really. Heavy as well. I was a heavy boy. I was probably fat I think before I slimmed down into the professional environment. I remember walking on and everyone was just looking going, โ€˜Wow, who the flip is that kid?โ€™ It was unbelievable.โ€

      Fixture
      World Rugby U20 Championship
      England U20
      40 - 21
      Full-time
      Argentina U20
      All Stats and Data

      The is a limit to how gigantic he wants to become. โ€œ121kgs this year has been the heaviest I have been. Stuart wants me around 124, 125, not just fat but as in more bigger,โ€ he said, describing his weight before referencing his height. โ€œ204cm. Still growing. I want to stop at 205. I donโ€™t want to be 7ft. No, no. 6ft 7โ€™, 6ft 8โ€™. Thatโ€™s it.โ€

      Maro Itoje was his teenage role model. โ€œWhen he plays for England and Sarries, the detail he brings into his lineouts and into his defence, his tackling, when he needs to get into a position, when he needs to run a line is unbelievable. That is where I want to try and be really, be better than his really.

      โ€œIโ€™d see training with the Sarries team and everything and it was just like, โ€˜Wow, what he is doing is unbelievableโ€™. He knows me because of my brothers. Every time my dad dropped my brothers off youโ€™d see him walking and he would be like, โ€˜Alright, mateโ€™.โ€

      That dedication has rubbed off in the way Kpoku is brushing up on lineout detail in Cape Town. โ€œI always come down when everyone is not here at around 11:30 (to the lobby) and I go to bed at 12 every day, that is my thing, I need to get my lineouts in my head. I am studying Argentina, getting their stuff in my head as I need to steal those balls.โ€

      It was perhaps in the head a bit too much as Kpoku was yellow carded in the second half at Athlone on Saturday but he quickly redeemed himself, making the breakdown steal that ignited the counter attack for Jack Brackenโ€™s hat-trick try in Englandโ€™s impressive 40-21 opening round win.

      โ€œI donโ€™t like putting pressure on myself. I just take it day by day. You canโ€™t really control the outcome. Something we do in camp is we grow the rose every day, we stick together. A brotherhood. Stick together when we are training; if we drop a ball or knock-on, we just bring each other together. That brings us closer.โ€

      • Click here to sign up to RugbyPass TV for free live coverage of matches from the 2024 World Rugby U20 Championship in countries that donโ€™t have an exclusive local host broadcaster deal

      ADVERTISEMENT

      LIVE

      Vancouver SVNS | Day 3

      Boks Office | Episode 35 | Six Nations Round 2 Review

      O2 Inside Line: This Rose | Episode 3 | France Week

      Second round of the Men's Six Nations | Whistle Watch

      Harlequins vs Bristol Bears | PWR 2024/25 | Full Match Replay

      Yokohama Canon Eagles vs Saitama Wildknights | Japan Rugby League One 2024/25 | Full Match Replay

      Watch now: Lomu - The Lost Tapes

      The Dupont Ploy: How France went from underdogs to Olympic gods | The Report

      Former rugby player is truly an NFL superstar | Walk the Talk | Jordan Mailata

      Trending on RugbyPass

      Comments

      1 Comment
      A
      Alexander 238 days ago

      What a nice bloke!

      Join free and tell us what you really think!

      Sign up for free
      ADVERTISEMENT

      Latest Features

      Comments on RugbyPass

      R
      RegineIsaksen 55 minutes ago
      Reds name 10 Wallabies in starting side for teamโ€™s season-opener

      Sometimes life gives you signs-you just got to be paying attention. One night, deep in an Uber ride, I struck up a conversation with the driver. The topic of Bitcoin came up, and he mentioned that he once lost his wallet containing $50,000.

      I thought this would be the end of the story-something like regret, lessons learned, and moving on. But then he said something that stuck with me: "Thankfully, I found Lee Ultimate Hacker. They got everything back." I nodded, really interested but unconcerned. After all, I was so very careful with my wallet security. I thought, That's rough, but it could never happen to me. A week later, it happened to me. I lost the wallet holding $300,000 while overhauling my crypto storage system. In one wrong move, my funds became completely unreachable. I retraced passwords, checked backups, tried everything that normally works, but nothing worked. Panic kicked in. My mind was racing, trying to figure out my next move. And then, I remembered the Uber driver's story.

      I didn't waste a moment and contacted Lee Ultimate Hacker. Right upon connecting to their team, I could feel my nerves calm down. They did not right away get to work but also asked questions, analyzed my situation, and explained how the recovery would go. It was next-level professionalism; they didn't just work on how to return my money but also how to make me understand what happened and how I could avoid it in the future. Finally, after what felt like the longest wait of my life, came the message that I had been waiting for: My wallet was recovered successfully.

      Relief doesn't even begin to describe my feeling at that moment. That $300,000 wasn't just money; it was years of careful investments and strategic planning. And in an instant, it was all back where it belonged. In retrospect, I owe more than a five-star rating to that Uber driver. His story gave me a lifeline which I didn't know I needed. Lesson learned: Pay attention to those random conversations-you never know when they might save you a fortune.

      LEEULTIMATEHACKER @ AOL . COM

      telegram: LEEULTIMATE

      wh@tsapp +1 (715) 314 - 9248

      1 Go to comments
      S
      SusanLiebman 1 hour ago
      England explain their backing for Marcus Smith to stay on the kicks

      Iโ€™ve always been careful with my cryptocurrency, but even the most cautious investors can fall victim to cyber threats. My nightmare began when a ransomware attack locked me out of my $500,000 Bitcoin wallet. The hackers demanded payment in exchange for access, but I refused to negotiate with criminals. Desperate and running out of options, I started researching legitimate crypto recovery services, something I never thought Iโ€™d need.During my search, I came across an article about crypto recovery services that highlighted Pro Wizard Gilbert Recovery as an industry leader. While I was skeptical at first, I was also desperate. Every hour that passed felt like my funds were slipping further away. Finally, I decided to take a chance and reached out to their team.From the very first call, I knew I was dealing with professionals. The team at Pro Wizard Gilbert Recovery listened patiently to my situation and reassured me that I wasnโ€™t alone,ransomware attacks were becoming increasingly common, and they had successfully helped many people recover their stolen crypto. Their confidence gave me hope.Once I provided the necessary details about my wallet and the attack, their forensic specialists got to work. Unlike the hackers, who demanded money without guarantees, Pro Wizard Gilbert Recovery provided clear expectations, a transparent process, and constant updates. Their team used advanced blockchain analysis tools to trace the compromised transactions and locate vulnerabilities that could be exploited to regain access.The waiting period was nerve-wracking, but they delivered on every promise. Within a matter of days, I received the news I had been praying forโ€”my $500,000 had been fully restored. I could barely believe it. My funds were back, and the hackers had failed.Beyond the recovery itself, Pro Wizard Gilbert Recovery also educated me on preventing future attacks. They advised me on strengthening my wallet security, using cold storage, and recognizing suspicious links or downloads that could contain malware. Their insight and expertise ensured that I wouldnโ€™t be caught off guard again.What started as a moment of complete despair ended with an incredible victoryโ€”all thanks to Pro Wizard Gilbert Recovery. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you think your crypto is gone for good, donโ€™t lose hope. They are the real deal, and they proved that even after a ransomware attack, your assets can still be saved.

      Email: prowizardgilbertrecovery(@)engineer.com

      Telegram: https://t.me/Pro_Wizard_Gilbert_Recovery

      WhatsApp: +1 (920) 408โ€‘1234

      0 Go to comments
      S
      SusanLiebman 2 hours ago
      Leon MacDonald lands first Super Rugby job since All Blacks exit

      Iโ€™ve always been careful with my cryptocurrency, but even the most cautious investors can fall victim to cyber threats. My nightmare began when a ransomware attack locked me out of my $500,000 Bitcoin wallet. The hackers demanded payment in exchange for access, but I refused to negotiate with criminals. Desperate and running out of options, I started researching legitimate crypto recovery services, something I never thought Iโ€™d need.During my search, I came across an article about crypto recovery services that highlighted Pro Wizard Gilbert Recovery as an industry leader. While I was skeptical at first, I was also desperate. Every hour that passed felt like my funds were slipping further away. Finally, I decided to take a chance and reached out to their team.From the very first call, I knew I was dealing with professionals. The team at Pro Wizard Gilbert Recovery listened patiently to my situation and reassured me that I wasnโ€™t alone,ransomware attacks were becoming increasingly common, and they had successfully helped many people recover their stolen crypto. Their confidence gave me hope.Once I provided the necessary details about my wallet and the attack, their forensic specialists got to work. Unlike the hackers, who demanded money without guarantees, Pro Wizard Gilbert Recovery provided clear expectations, a transparent process, and constant updates. Their team used advanced blockchain analysis tools to trace the compromised transactions and locate vulnerabilities that could be exploited to regain access.The waiting period was nerve-wracking, but they delivered on every promise. Within a matter of days, I received the news I had been praying forโ€”my $500,000 had been fully restored. I could barely believe it. My funds were back, and the hackers had failed.Beyond the recovery itself, Pro Wizard Gilbert Recovery also educated me on preventing future attacks. They advised me on strengthening my wallet security, using cold storage, and recognizing suspicious links or downloads that could contain malware. Their insight and expertise ensured that I wouldnโ€™t be caught off guard again.What started as a moment of complete despair ended with an incredible victoryโ€”all thanks to Pro Wizard Gilbert Recovery. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you think your crypto is gone for good, donโ€™t lose hope. They are the real deal, and they proved that even after a ransomware attack, your assets can still be saved.

      Email: prowizardgilbertrecovery(@)engineer.com

      Telegram: https://t.me/Pro_Wizard_Gilbert_Recovery

      WhatsApp: +1 (920) 408โ€‘1234

      6 Go to comments
      TRENDING
      TRENDING England player ratings vs Scotland | 2025 Six Nations England player ratings vs Scotland | 2025 Six Nations
      Search