Jonathan Joseph could have been donning whites at Wimbledon instead of the white shirt of England had he chosen to follow a different sporting path. As a 10-year-old tennis player, Joseph was once ranked number one in Derbyshire for his age group and a bright future in the sport loomed.
At the same time, though, he was also playing football – at a good enough level to be offered trials by Derby County – and rugby, the sport that was in his genes through father, Ivan, who played 11 times for Northampton Saints from 1982-86.
After moving to Newbury in his mid-teens, rugby took over, ending any chance he had of following Wales legend and 1966 Junior Wimbledon champion, JPR Williams, on the road to SW19.
"Jonathan was a promising junior tennis player at that time and I've never forgotten his name," says JOHN BRIGGS, his former county tennis team manager. "It's sad we lost him to another county and it's sad that he was ultimately lost to tennis but, obviously, it has all turned out very well for him."
Pip Joseph, Jonathan's mother, says the nimble footwork associated with her son's performances on the rugby pitch – a trait that has seen him labelled as the "new Jeremy Guscott" – stems from his time on court.
She said: "ASHLEY BROOMHEAD, who was Jonathan's county performance coach, used to spend hours and hours of his own time working on his movement and mobility and developing him as an athlete. When he went to Bisham Abbey for national fitness screening, I think I'm right in saying that JJ's results were better than Tim Henman's at the same age. Derbyshire put him on a scholarship, which meant he received extensivE coaching after school. A lot of time and energy was put into his tennis."
Clearly, there are no regrets over the path Joseph has chosen, although the brutality of professional rugby did come as something of a shock to his mother. "We're a sporty family, my daughter Hannah also plays for England – at netball – so I'd like to think we're pretty hardy," she said. But it never really occurred to me how dangerous a game rugby was until I saw the first Test against South Africa. I realised then that it was like warfare, with bodies lying all over the pitch. I'm fine with it, though."
Joseph, who started out in rugby as a junior at Derby RFC, earned his fourth England cap in Saturday's stunning 38-21 victory over New Zealand at Twickenham, having made his international bow on the summer tour of South Africa.
"Tennis was my main sport growing up but then we moved to Newbury and I didn't really enjoy it as much and rugby took off," said the 21-year-old centre, a former Millfield class-mate of fellow England squad member Mako Vunipola. I played at school and at my local club, Newbury, and it was good for me to have my father's backing throughout. I've always preferred rugby because it's a team game and you get to do things that I think are more suited to me, like running around with the ball in hand and beating players."
Just like Guscott…? "He was a great of the game and it nice when people make the comparison," he added. That's happened quite a few times now and I'm obviously humbled by it. But my focus is on what I'm trying to achieve and what my goals are. I'm still young and I'm still learning. From club rugby to international rugby is a big step up – the attention to detail is so much greater and you need that, because it is so hard to break down international defences."