Redshaw ready to lead from the front
BEN Redshaw trained with England during last year’s World Cup before he had made his Newcastle debut, already marked out as a player to watch.
Redshaw, who captained England Under-18s in last year’s Six Nations festival, was called up for a week ahead of England’s opening World Cup match against Argentina, part of head coach Steve Borthwick’s policy of giving emerging players a taste of what it took to become a Test player.
When Alex Codling took over as Newcastle’s director of rugby last summer, he very quickly identified Redshaw as one of the players he would be looking to build the Falcons’ future around: three others, Jacob Oliver, Ben Douglas and Oli Spencer, were also part of England’s squad against Ireland in Friday night’s Under-20 Six Nations match in Bath.
Redshaw made his Newcastle debut in the Premiership Cup victory over Bedford a week after he had trained with Enin
gland and while Codling has left Kingston Park, his replacement Steve Diamond has also vowed to give youth its head.
“It is exciting for us as a group to have so many youngsters,” said Redshaw, who turned 19 in January, in his first interview as a senior player, although such was his self-assurance and fluency it could have been mistaken for his 100th.
“We want to take the club as far as we can and drive the standards along with the senior players. It is about taking Newcastle forward and there will be more young players coming through. What is exciting is that they are being given a chance in the Premiership and doing well, like Henry Arundell when he was at London Irish.
“I have had a couple of meetings with Steve (Diamond) and he is looking to bring change to Newcastle. He has given us that stern emotion we need and a number of the boys are taking ownership. The last six matches in this season’s Premiership will be big for us.
“I am really thankful to Alex for giving me opportunities. He played a massive part in my development, opening my eyes to that level of rugby and making sure I learned from the players around me.”
Redshaw, who was born in Leeds and educated at Sedbergh School, has played most of his rugby in the centre, but Newcastle see him as a full-back who can feature on the wing and he was at 15 for the U20s on Friday.
“Full-back suits a lot of my strengths,” he said. “I am still developing physically and I am more of a dynamic 13 than a heavy one. I have played in a number of different environments which helps you develop.
“It has been a great experience from the start with the Under-20s and we have become really close as a group. I have played
the Premiership and the Challenge Cup for Newcastle and it is about adapting to the competitions you are involved in and the people around you.”
Redshaw said he was lost for words when the call came for him to go to France and train with England for a week in Le Touquet ahead of the Argentina opener.
“It was an unbelievable experience. I was training with and speaking to players I had been watching for all my life. Having the opportunity to have oneto-one conversations with Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi was pretty special.
“Farrell was a big leader at the time and while he was not able to play because of his red card (against Wales the previous month) the way he led the squad and how the boys looked up to him was special.
“I took a lot from his leadership, and then there was what the players did off the pitch in terms of recovery and looking after their bodies. They worked really hard on their robustness so not taking that for granted is something I now use.”
Redshaw may be one of the youngest players on Newcastle’s books, but he has not been afraid to offer his thoughts in what has been a testing campaign for the Falcons.
“Leadership inspires me,” he said. “Captaining the Under-18s was an honour and I would like to think of myself as a bit of a leader. I have come through age-group rugby as the loud one on the pitch and always the one to speak up in a huddle.
“I feel like I understand emotions in rugby and feel I read the game quite well. I would like to say I show others and lead by example. When a voice needs to be heard I am there for it. Leading the Under-18s was special and if that was to happen in the future, I would be more than happy to take the role.”