Mike Brown: Henry Arundell ‘could become one of the best in the world’ as he likens youngster to All Blacks legend Christian Cullen

Stan Wilson

Former England full-back Mike Brown has hailed flying back Henry Arundell, 19, as “someone who could become one of the best in the world”.

After watching the London Irish star carve up the Toulon defence last weekend in the Challenge Cup, Brown compared Arundell to legendary All-Black full-back Christian Cullen, who shared similar traits.

Arundell scored a fantastic 100 metre solo-try, weaving between several opposition defenders, after he replaced Tom Parton in the loss to the now-finalists Toulon.

Currently a regular in the London Irish Premiership Cup team, Arundell is yet to break into the starting XV, but Brown believes he has the talent to do that and become an England international eventually.

Physical specimen

“You see a lot of unbelievably quick athletes who struggle to beat defenders at top speed,” the former Harlequins player wrote in his Mail Online column.

“That body movement at pace is what set Cullen apart from the rest. There aren’t many players in the world who move like that. He’s quick but he’s also strong, 96kg, with big legs.”

Staggered by his physical make-up, Brown suggested that Arundell’s skillset could help buy him a ticket to France as plenty of time remains for Eddie Jones to make up his mind.

Brown added: “I could see Arundell and Freddie Steward playing together in the back three in future. They’re both full-backs, but they have very different points of difference so I could see them working in tandem.

“Steward’s point of difference is his aerial game, while Arundell is lethal on the counterattack. It could be a really dangerous combination.”

This combination could see Arundell as an understudy to the Leicester full-back with the option to start the Exile as a winger should the Australian enigma see fit.

While nothing is certain, what can be confirmed is that Jones has his eye on London Irish’s prodigy full-back with the England boss visiting Declan Kidney’s side before the Toulon clash.

“Eddie was over with the club last week and we went through a number of the players that we had and that is the comment that I am making, the fact that we had the English coach coming to London Irish to discuss a number of our players is a good thing for the club,” stated the director of rugby.

“Henry was one of them and we gave him out insights to that but Eddie is a strong enough person to make up his own mind as to what is the best for Henry’s development.”

The reality of Arundell being selected for the World Cup side is slim as he’s not yet a starter for the London Irish first XV, a decision Brown agrees with.

Brown commented: “It would be easy to join the hype and chuck him in at the deep end.

“It will take him some time to lock down the fundamentals — positioning in the back field, confidence under the high balls — but if he does that then he looks like someone who could become one of the best in the world.

“You need to consistently nail the basics so you don’t just become a highlights reel player — and there’s nothing to suggest he can’t do that. He could be England’s most exciting runner since Jason Robinson.”

Having spoken to Arundell’s England U20s coach, Jordan Turner-Hall, Brown revealed that “he has a good head on his shoulders, always being proactive about doing his extras in training.”

While the World Cup is a distant goal, we may be able to catch a glimpse of Arundell during the England summer tour to Australia if Jones wants to take a closer look at him.

Or else he may feature in training camp solely as an “apprentice” player, similarly to how Marcus Smith started with England.

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