Ben Earl enjoying competitive rivalry

Ben Earl is no stranger to life in England camp. The 25-year-old Saracen represented in international colours at U16, U18 and U20 levels before his first involvement in the senior setup ahead of his debut against Scotland in the 2020 Guinness Six Nations.

This World Cup training camp, however, Earl cites as his most enjoyable to date: “Training has been brilliant. The way that we’ve trained and the standard we train at is the highest I’ve been involved in, and I know that’s shared across the board. It’s been physically demanding but it’s been physically smart. We’re not training for the sake of training; we’re training with a purpose. That can’t be said for every environment that everyone’s ever been in.

“It’s honestly been fantastic in terms of the opportunities that we’ve been given and the freedom we have within our structured game plan. There’s still massive scope to be the player that you want to be.”

Earl, who capped off a successful club season with Saracens’ sixth Premiership title, is aware of the competition he faces for a back row place. “The amount of experience we have this year in terms of the back row is unbelievable,” he continued. “Jack Willis won the Top 14, Lewis Ludlam captained his club, Tom Pearson put in arguably a player-of-the-season performance in the Premiership and then you’ve got the likes of Billy Vunipola and Alex Dombrandt who’ve both got unbelievable international experience.

“Everyone is offering their little bit and doing the best they can against what is obviously an elephant in the room in terms of competition. But it’s been the healthiest and the best environment I’ve been in.

“That’s the magic of our back row make-up; there’s not one player who’s the same as another. Every player has a strength that we’re all window-shopping and picking one another’s brains over.”

Clarity from coaching staff has helped Earl to reap the rewards of this environment, while helping to paint a picture of his role in this England squad.

“Because each player is slightly different, I probably don’t fit in to an out-and-out 7 all the time. I’m probably one of the quicker forwards we have available, so if I can use that with ball in hand, or without the ball, that’s always going to help. I like to see myself as a link between the forwards and the backs at times.

“Richard Wigglesworth has been brilliant with me, telling me where he’d want to put me in attack and how he thinks I’m best used and Kevin Sinfield likewise in defence. Each coach has really given you license to do what you do best.”

The team’s attention will now turn to the four Summer Nations Series fixtures, starting with their game against Wales on Saturday 5 August.