Saracens prodigy Noah Caluori says he aims to win his first England cap in the next six months as he maps out an ambition to be his country’s “best-ever wing”.
The explosive 19-year-old scored five tries on his first Prem start in October, showcasing his extraordinary aerial ability, and was called into Steve Borthwick’s England squad eight days later.
Borthwick names his Six Nations squad on Friday and, after appearances for the under-20s and England A, Caluori hopes to make his senior bow either at the tournament, or in England’s summer Tests against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina.
“I want to go on the summer tour this year for England and hopefully get my first cap either this Six Nations or in the summer,” he said when asked about his goals for the rest of this season.
“Long term, I would like to be England’s best-ever winger and to play for the British and Irish Lions.
“I’d be able to just play at the peak of rugby, achieve everything. I want to be able to win trophies with Saracens, win trophies with England and then be able to go down as one of the greats.
“That’s my long-term goal. Short-term goal: Coming out of school, it was always my goal of being able to play in the 2027 World Cup.”
Caluori faces considerable competition. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman and Tom Roebuck have been ahead of him in Borthwick’s pecking order, while Saracens team-mate Elliot Daly, Bath’s Henry Arundell and Harlequins’ Cadan Murley also have claims to a wing spot.
But Caluori is taking inspiration from Henry Pollock, who was picked for last year’s initial Six Nations squad, released to the under-20s, and then returned to the senior set-up and scored two tries off the bench in the final-round rout of Wales.
Caluori, who ultimately made two appearances for England’s second-string ‘A’ team during the autumn, said of Pollock: “We have had a couple of chats at camp, not really in depth.
“But credit to him. He’s had a crazy ride and I would definitely like to follow in his footsteps in some things he’s done.”
Caluori says that, along with Pollock’s trailblazing example, he has taken heed of a training-ground scolding from former England captain Owen Farrell.
Farrell returned to Saracens this season after a season’s stint at Racing 92 and has praised Caluori’s abilities, calling his team-mates’ ability to regain attacking kicks “nuts”., external
However, Farrell took issue with Caluori’s effort during a tackling drill earlier this season.
“It was a very cold day,” remembered Caluori.
“I wasn’t necessarily moping, [but] I was a bit cold, feeling a bit ill. It was one of those days… I could have been training harder, so there is some truth to the story.
“I was like ‘My shoulder kind of hurts’, just to myself.
“Faz was like: ‘Is there anything wrong with you?’
“I said: ‘I am fine.’
“He said: ‘Is there anything wrong with you?’
“I said: ‘I am fine.’
“He said: ‘Train like it then.’
“I didn’t take it in a negative way at all. He spoke to me later in the session and said: ‘You shouldn’t need someone to motivate you to train like you always do on a day when it is cold or on a day when you haven’t been selected.'”
Caluori has caught the eye with 12 tries in 14 games this season, but he is instead sharpening his defence in preparation for the Test game.
“At Prem level, maybe you’ll get away with some mistakes, but at Test level those are very small margins that you’ve got to be able to do correctly – otherwise, that could be the country’s game on your hands,” he added.
Originally published at BBC Sport
