Three weeks ago, Bevan Rodd was preparing to pack the car and drive 365 miles from Blackpool to Cornwall with his old school mates. The beers and the surfboards were ready to go but a surprise phone call from Eddie Jones meant the holiday plans had to be put on hold.
Rodd diverted to Twickenham where, after a crash course introduction, he found himself starting for England against Australia.
‘It all happened so quickly,’ says Rodd. ‘I called up my mates to tell them I couldn’t go to Cornwall and their immediate response was, “Classic!”. Then I explained why and they were a bit more understanding! Luckily we had a refundable booking.
Bevan Rodd capped a remarkable rise by starting for England against Australia at Twickenham
‘I made my way down to England camp on Wednesday night and was straight into training on Thursday. At breakfast on Friday, Eddie Jones came up to me and said, “Hey Roddy… [Ellis] Genge has got Corona so you’re starting, mate. Just do what you do for Sale” and then walked off.
‘I was there thinking, “Woah”. In a way, I was quite happy with the way it happened. If I’d found out on the Monday I would have run through the game in my head about 40 times.
‘It all happened so quickly that I didn’t really have time to process it. I was next to Tom Curry in the team run and he asked how I was doing. I said, “This is a bit weird, isn’t it? I was sat on the sofa a couple of days ago and here I am”. He just said, “Grow up and get on with it!” The wise words of Tom Curry!’
The 21-year-old, here pictured in Blackpool, has lit up Sale and England this season
This capped a remarkable rise for the 21-year-old loosehead, who started in the victories over Australia and South Africa. Rodd was born in Scotland but grew up in Dubai and the Isle of Man, before eventually settling down in the North West.
He cut his teeth playing schoolboy rugby at Sedbergh and, as recently as 2019, he was still playing for Fylde RFC in National League 2 North. ‘I joined the Sale academy in 2016, while I was still at school, and they sent us out on loan. I was playing down at Fylde, getting filled in at the scrum every
