March 6, 2006
The England Counties XV has been an important staging post for a number of players who have gone on to better things, but teenagers at the fledgling end of their careers have tended to be the exception rather than the rule.
Ben Foden of Sale Sharks and England Under 21s was an 18-year-old Cheshire county player when he played on the Counties XV tour to Canada in 2004 and now Tynedale centre Hamish Smales has reduced the junior end of the spectrum by 26 days.
But as Smales prepares for the Counties XV game against France Amateurs in Beaune on Saturday (March 11, 3pm) as the junior member of the squad, he is keen to absorb all the experience which will come from new team-mates and new coaches.
Despite his tender years, the former Sedbergh School youngster will not be pulling on an England jersey for the first time next Saturday.
His pedigree as an age-group schools player is impressive and while he is currently plying his trade with Tynedale in National Division Three North during a gap year from his studies, the Hexham teenager is not operating at that level through lack of opportunity to try his hand in more illustrious company.
Because of his age, his County background to date is purely of the schools genre. A Yorkshire School’s Under 16 player by virtue of his Sedbergh education, he then played two seasons at Schools Under 18 level with Northumberland and the North, as well as a season with the North Under 19s, a switch from scrum-half to centre at the suggestion of his Sedbergh coach Dan Harrison paying rich dividends.
He was also a member of the England Schools 18 Group squad and played in last season’s Four Home Nations tournament against Scotland at Ebbw Vale and Wales at Dunvant.
Having proved he could operate at that level, the offers of an academy contract duly arrived, but rather than take up a chance to join Sale Sharks, he decided on a year out, playing at Corbridge and hopefully getting the maths A level grade he needs to take a place at Exeter University studying business management.
Not exactly the traditional Counties man, then, but this confident and personable lad with a good sense of humour is clearly keen to extract all that can be had from the Counties XV experience.
"I really enjoyed the training sessions and I’m looking forward to the whole trip," he says. "I want to learn from the experience. I’ll be working with players from a league above where I play and with different coaches.
"That first session was very good and I really enjoyed it. They’re a good bunch of lads and they took care of me.
"I was a bit surprised to be told that I was being watched by the Counties’ selectors, which I think came after I had had a decent game for Tynedale in our Powergen Cup win at Nuneaton.
"Looking forward, if all goes well on the rugby front, I’d like to become a professional player, or failing that, get into sports agency work.
"But for now, I simply want to do my best for the Counties XV and learn all I can from being involved."
Joining Smales will be Darlington’s Yorkshire lock Richard Snowball, his White Rose team-mate Chris Malherbe (Wharfedale) and Catterick-born Toby Handley, who played with Durham School, Durham Colts, Durham U21s, Durham City and West Hartlepool before joining Mike Brewer at L’Aquilla in Italy.
Lancashire duo Chris Briers (Orrell) and Ollie Viney (Preston Grasshoppers) supply the Red Rose influence in the squad, while Smales will have a friendly North East accent in the squad in the shape of Assistant-Manager Danny Hodgson from Howick in Northumberland.
Backs: Chris Briers (Orrell & Lancashire), Simon Brocklehurst (Nuneaton & Kent), Neil Hallett (Esher & Surrey), Toby Handley (Stourbridge & Durham), Chris Malherbe (Wharfedale & Yorkshire), Phil Reed (Nuneaton & Warwickshire), Hamish Smales (Tynedale & Northumberland), Ollie Thomas (Moseley & North Midlands), Ollie Viney (Preston & Lancashire), Lewis Vinnicombe (Redruth & Cornwall).
Forwards: Des Brett (Blackheath & Eastern Counties), Adam Caves (Moseley & North Midlands), Duncan Cormack (Esher & Surrey), Simon Elkinson (Esher), Mark Evans (Moseley & North Midlands), John Munro (Nuneaton & Warwickshire), Wayne Reed (Launceston & Devon), James Rodwell (Moseley & North Midlands), Richard Snowball (Darlington & Yorkshire), Richard Stott (Moseley & North Midlands), Stean Williams (Stourbridge & Gloucestershire), James Winterbottom (Henley & Middlesex).
