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Tom believes props should keep their options open
The Rugby Paper
|January 12, 2025
EXPERIENCED prop Tom Bristow is urging young front rowers to learn both sides of the scrum rather than being pigeonholed into one position.
Bristow, 33, has gone full circle with Dorking, having started his career in the club's academy The Hong Kong international went on to play over 100 top-flight matches for London Welsh, Leicester, Wasps, Narbonne and Sale but will finish his career at his boyhood club.
One of Bristow's unique selling points has been his ability to play both tighthead and loosehead with equal aplomb-a rarity in the modern era for props.
Sale and England forward Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 20, is one of the exceptions to that rule, and Bristow feels the junior World Cup winner is the perfect example of versatility being rewarded with increased opportunities.
He told The Rugby Paper: "The scrum is a real weapon, and being able to play both sides definitely helps with selection.
This story is from the January 12, 2025 edition of The Rugby Paper.
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