Bath Rugby’s Max Ojomoh believes he was under more pressure to perform when turning out for England A on his home ground than when he made his debut for the full England side.
A capacity crowd of 14,509 packed into Bath Rugby’s home The Rec on Saturday 8th November to see England A take on the All Blacks XV | Photo © Richard Briggs
The 25-year-old centre was named vice-captain for England A’s home game with the All Blacks XV at The Rec on Saturday 8th November – a little under four months after earning his first cap as the senior team beat the USA in Washington DC.
After Ojomoh played from start to finish as England A were beaten 31-14 by the experienced New Zealanders in front of a sellout crowd, the Echo asked him at his post-match press conference whether that experience was actually better than playing for Steve Borthwick’s side across the Atlantic.
Ojomoh replied: “Ooh, tough one. Tough one. Obviously, the USA game was my first cap, so it was massive.
“You could argue that [playing for England A against the All Blacks XV] was more iconic as such. I’m at home, in front of my home fans, I’ve got the England shirt on again, I’m playing against the All Blacks, my mum’s half Kiwi… So, yes, that one meant a lot as well.
“Arguably more pressure to perform in this game because there’s a lot at stake.
Bath Rugby’s Max Ojomoh, right, playing for England A against the All Blacks XV at The Rec | Photo © Richard Briggs
“But I don’t really do that with games, I never really go like ‘This game’s bigger than that other’. It was just a pretty good occasion.
“It doesn’t surprise me that we packed the place out. What a great city to play rugby in.”
A very level-headed young man, Ojomoh came across as having loved every minute of the clash with the tourists – and he knew that the Bath supporters in the attendance of 14,509 would be expecting big things of him.
He said: “I knew that was going be an expectation. I was taken aback by the love that the fans showed, but it’s just part and parcel of coming from Bath. I think the people of the city really get behind the people from it.”
Ojomoh praised his clubmates Vilikesa Sela and Kepueli Tuipulotu, who both had cameo appearances in the final quarter.
He said: “You could tell when they were coming on because the fans went crazy. But I think all credit to those two, that opportunity was very much deserved.
“They had great [England] Under-20 careers, and they’ve been class in the Premiership and other competitions so far for Bath.
“[Playing for England A is] a class opportunity to bridge the gap [to the full England side].
“I think the young lads here, coming up against opposition like that, it’s almost like an ‘Oh’ moment, because you’re coming up against boys that are better than the ones you might come up against week in and week out, so you kind of find out where the level is.
“Now we all know where we need to raise our game to in order to play in the big team.”
As for how playing for England A compares to appearing for the Blue, Black & White, Ojomoh said: “The game’s quick. The game becomes a lot more pragmatic. There’s very quick transitions, whenever a team loses the ball. The aerial battle’s huge, the set piece battle’s huge.
“And, unfortunately, we came unstuck in some areas today, but we came together on Sunday [2nd November].
“And I think that was a good marker for where we can push on for next week [against Spain in Valladolid on Saturday 15th November].”
