At 6ft 4in tall and with a frame strong enough to carry a Premier League title charge, Vincent Kompany would have fit right in on an international rugby field. And given his athleticism and bravery, he would have likely played in the back row, hammering opponents and stealing the ball from the dark corners of a ruck.
On a different timeline, he might have paired with Ben Earl, England’s 25-year-old flanker, who heard from the former Manchester City captain at the team’s training base this week.
“He got this slideshow out and showed us a post-preseason fixture that he wasn’t happy with, a review on that and stuff he hangs his hat on,” Earl said of Kompany’s presentation to Steve Borthwick’s pre-World Cup squad. “The links between the two sports, and certainly his environment and this environment, are exactly the same in terms of the messages he wants, the intensity he requires his players to bring.
“To hear that from someone we’ve all watched play at the highest level for a number of years and picking his brains about Pep [Guardiola], players reaching their potential and not reaching their potential, was really, really interesting.”
Earl himself stands at a fork in his career with questions around his own potential with a red rose on his chest. Last year he was recognised as the Premiership’s player of the season and played a key role in Saracens’ league win in May. And yet there is no guarantee he will be in France in seven weeks’ time when England look to restore some lost pride at the World Cup.
“You can’t even think that far ahead,” he said. “Obviously we are all dying to be involved. But if it’s not your day, it’s not your day. And you’ve got to crack on, I guess.”
Competition for places is particularly fierce in the back row and Borthwick has shown reputation will count for less than recent form or work shown in training. Last week Sam Underhill, one of England’s brightest stars over the past four years, was cut from the squad. “I guess not many nations will have the competition we have in terms of experience,” Earl said. “That just goes to show how competitive it is. Sam trained brilliantly and it was a shock to us all that he was no longer involved. That really struck home with us.”
Still, Earl is confident and believes he has enough “super-strengths”, to steal a Borthwick phrase, to stand above the pack. “I like to think I’m probably one of the quicker forwards we’ve got available. If I can use that ball in hand or without the ball, that’s always going to help.
“I’d like to see myself as a link between the forwards and the backs. That’s something I’ve enjoyed doing with [Saracens]. I’ve worked with Owen [Farrell] and a few of the guys for some time now and I know how each 10 and nine works in different ways.”
He singled out the assistant coaches Richard Wigglesworth and Kevin Sinfield and said: “It’s been the most enjoyable camp I’ve been involved in because each coach has really given you licence to do what you do best. And I’ve just found that’s been amazing for me. Each player is slightly different [and] I probably don’t fit into your out-and-out seven all the time. Sometimes I play a bit differently. So that’s why I’ve really enjoyed being involved in that.”
He is right. He is not your standard openside flank. Then again, Kompany wasn’t your standard centre-back, as he proved when he unleashed a thunderbolt strike into the top corner of Leicester City’s goal four years ago. Perhaps the Belgian’s presence bodes well for Earl.
