Six Nations Under-20s with Danny Wright

This is the third part to a series of interviews with Danny Wright, England under-20 lock. Danny currently plays for Cinderford, on a loan deal from his parent club Gloucester.


Considering the disappointing defeat by Ireland two-weeks ago, ultimately ending England’s chance of winning the grand-slam, the under-20s will look positively at their next match, away to Scotland on March 12.

The squad still have a chance of winning the six nations, as the unpredictability of this years championship has seen some surprising results.

Wright and the rest of the squad are aware of what the focus is now. “We have to stay positive. We can’t win the Grand Slam any more, but we can still win the competition. If we beat Scotland and we beat France, we’ll win the six nations and that’s what we’ve got to focus on. Maybe as the pressure of the grand slam is off, we’ll start performing more.”

Dealing with Scotland will be the first big test in their two remaining fixtures. Considering the calibre of England’s final opponents, France, however, the biggest challenge is thought to lie on the continent.

“Definitely, you would think that France would be our biggest match. But then France drew with Scotland 8-8, away. Scotland is going to be difficult, if not perhaps harder, than France away. I think we have to respect both teams and I expect both games to be hard and physical and we should not take anyone for granted.”

Disappointment against Ireland was understandable though, as the home side had the lion’s share of possession, paired with Ireland being reduced to 14 players for a period of the game. Despite this, mistakes by England cost them any chance of victory.

“We lost the game because of a few silly mistakes. It was more disappointment than anger with each other, as we knew we could of played better and pulled off the win. The team wasn’t clinical enough and made a few, stupid decisions. We didn’t really attack when we should have attacked.”

Defeat is a huge part of sport, and dealing with it is just as important. With Wright, now a fixture in the under-20 set up, and a senior member to boot, it is as much about how he deals with defeat, in order for him to set an example for the other players.

“You’ve got to stay positive about yourself and positive around other people. You’ve got to focus on the next task. I haven’t thought about the game, my only intention now is to go out there, and beat Scotland. If we sit and think about the Ireland game, then we’re not going to progress.

Obviously I have to be a role model, show a bit more leadership, but it’s not just down to me. It boils down to having a good attitude around camp, a good attitude to training. For me to say to people ‘Come on you have to do this’ or ‘Do that a bit more’, I have to show myself doing it, so it works both ways.”

This attitude and leadership attribute is something that transcends to Danny’s club rugby as well.

“I tend to try and show leadership. The more responsibility at Cinderford I get, the better it is for me. When I’m there I tend to show a lot of leadership and I enjoy it. I would never just back down and sit in the corner. I’d rather be up there shouting my mouth off.

Obviously it helps, when you actually go away, you become a director, but it doesn’t change your role.”

Regardless how the team deal with defeat, the main aim will be to press on, starting with Scotland in Glasgow.




Danny Wright is exclusively represented by Total Sport Promotions.