|
So far they've beaten Italy 18-11 and France 29-5 in warm-up games before seeing off Samoa 20-12 and Argentina twice by margins of 17-15 and 31-13. The only setback has been a 34-13 defeat at the hands of New Zealand, who face South Africa in the tournament's final on Saturday.
Steadman started playing in the club’s mini-rugby section at the age of five, where his dad Clive was coaching, with Williams and Catt converting from football to join the Under-11s.
Together they made their club and school sides virtually unbeatable until they moved on for their sixth form studies – Williams to St Peter’s in Gloucester (who lifted the Daily Mail Schools Cup last year), Catt to Bath College and Steadman to Bryanston in Dorset.
"We all started in the back-row in year eight. I was at number eight, Joe at seven and Catty at six," said Steadman.
"At school we had good coaches in Nick Leaney and Dave Owen who were involved in coaching Somerset and the South West Under-16s and they’ve put a few boys through England age group sides.
"Then we were originally picked up by Bristol in their Elite Player Development Centre at 13 or 14 when the Academy coaches were Peter Johnson and Paul Hull.
"The Clevedon School Under-16 team at the time was just about the most successful they’d had. We won the county cup most years and the Bristol Schools Cup.
"With England, me and Joe played for the Under-16s and Catty was in the back-row for the trials and switched to the front-row. We played for the Clevedon club and then came through the Under-18 trials to play together in the Home Unions tournament England won last year.
"We all played together in the Under-18 Home Unions side but don’t do so much now we’re all at different clubs. We all started in the same front row against Italy earlier this season for the Under-19s."
Catt and Williams have moved clubs, to Bath and Cinderford respectively, but Steadman is still at the Memorial Ground, appearing in Guinness A League games this season and for Clifton in National Three South.
"I’ve enjoyed my first full year at Bristol," he said. "Training with the first team has been great and there are so many experienced props you can learn from like Dave Hilton and Darren Crompton.
"Alex Clarke is breaking into the first team now and he’s 26, so it’s a long learning curve. So far I’ve played a few Guinness A League games and some friendlies for Bristol so now I’ve just got to keep on learning."
ends |
