BAGSHOT, England :There is nothing unusual about elite coaches bringing in expertise from other sports but a few eyebrows were raised at England’s training base on Tuesday when coach Steve Borthwick said that tennis player Emma Raducanu had been helping out.
Briton Raducanu won the 2021 U.S. Open as an 18-year-old qualifier but has been hampered by injuries and constant coaching changes since and has struggled to get even close to reproducing that success.
“Emma was talking to the players and sharing her experiences about preparing for the elite level of competition, which is terrific,” Borthwick said after naming his team for Saturday’s clash with New Zealand.
“People like her are always very welcome because we learn a lot from the players and enjoy learning from others’ experience.”
Prop Fin Baxter, nine months older than Raducanu but whose cherubic face belies his years and his job at the coalface as a tighthead prop, said it had been an unexpected but fun experience.
“She watched training today and then we did a few bits after,” he said. “I think she did a bit of kicking with Marcus (Smith). Maro (Itoje) was chatting to her and we were all drifting off, letting two big dogs of their sports talk.
“Then it was, ‘Fin, Will (Stuart), come on, Emma wants to do a lineout with you’. So we did the lineout. She was very good, and caught the ball. And then afterwards I was like, ‘Hi Emma, I’m Fin by the way’. It was a weird way to meet her for the first time. But it was cool to have her in.
“The amount of pressure she is under because of how successful she is is definitely something we can all learn something from.”
Also in camp was Brighton & Hove Albion manager Fabian Huerzeler. The German became the Premier League’s youngest coach when he took over at 31 last year and is burnishing his reputation with every passing week.
“We had Fabian in yesterday and today, it’s been really interesting having him at training,” Borthwick said.
“It’s just great having elite sports people come and visit us because we learn a lot … and enjoy learning from others’ experience.”
