Staples glad to be making a name for himself at Quins

FOR Harlequins hooker Jimmy Staples, the journey to elite rugby began with a twist of fate when his local football team folded and left him searching for a new sport.

- By BEN JAYCOCK

"I was playing for Poole Pythons," Staples recalls. "But we didn’t have enough players, so the team folded. I ended up trying rugby at Chaddesley Corbett RFC. I started with a bit of touch and just really enjoyed it - I never looked back."

From touch rugby on local pitches to England U18 honours, it’s been a rapid ascent for the 18-year-old powerful hooker, who counts legends from both past and present as key influences.

"When I was younger, it was Jonah Lomu, no question," he says. "But as I got older and started playing in the front row, it became guys like Jamie George and Dan Sheehan. Sheehan can just do everything —his all-round game is unreal. And Jamie George is just so consistent. His set-piece is top class-lineout, scrum —he nails it."

Having signed with Harlequins, Staples is immersed in one of the Premiership’s most vibrant rugby environments and relishing every bit of it.