The England prospect who has ‘five games’ to impress Steve Borthwick and overcome the summer ‘sense of disappointment’
Sale Sharks full-back Joe Carpenter and England head coach Steve Borthwick.
Joe Carpenter has spoken of his desire to win a maiden England cap this season after being a part of their summer tour to Japan and New Zealand without playing.
Carpenter’s inclusion in Steve Borthwick’s squad capped an outstanding year at Sale Sharks for the highly-rated full-back, who is noted for his strong running and attacking threat.
That Carpenter did not get any game-time for the Red Rose during the first Test against Japan and the second two against the All Blacks has merely magnified his determination to win a first senior cap this term.
He represented England at U16 and U18 level and has made the full-back position his own in a Sale side who have challenged for the Premiership title in the past two seasons.
‘Sense of disappointment’
Ahead of the new campaign, which sees Alex Sanderson’s side host Harlequins on Sunday, 23-year-old Carpenter told Planet Rugby: “Unfortunately I didn’t win a cap during the summer tour and of course there was a sense of disappointment in that.
“I went out there with the aim of playing for England and the Japan game was probably more of a realistic one as a potential debutant.
“Obviously I would’ve loved to have played against the All Blacks as well.
“But they were going full-strength and with what they know – and I don’t blame them – so I can’t complain as such as a first-timer but it definitely would’ve been nice to play.
“Nevertheless, it was a great experience and I learned a lot from training at the top level, which showed me what I need to do to get there.
“That’s really exciting because we’ve come back to work here in pre-season and I can put that to use to improve my performances further with this Sale team.
“Obviously it’s every English lad’s dream to represent your country at senior level and it’s just about trying to make that a reality now.”
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Ahead of the autumn internationals, which sees England host the All Blacks, Australia, South Africa and Japan, Carpenter is in bullish mood.
The goal
“The autumn internationals are definitely a goal of mine but how do you get there?” added the former Leeds Carnegie prospect.
“It’s about getting better day by day here at Sale and honing those skills that the England coach staff want to see, but also bringing the point of difference that kind of got you in the door in the first place.
“I love playing for Sale and I’m dead excited for the season to start this weekend.
“I’ve got five games to rip in and put my name back in the hat for England in the autumn.”
Carpenter is close friends with team-mate Tom Roebuck, with the pair having progressed through the ranks together at Sale.
They used to live together and support each other closely, with Carpenter delighted that Roebuck won his first senior England cap against Japan during the summer tour.
There was a strong Sale flavour to England’s squad with Carpenter, Roebuck, Bevan Rodd and the Curry twins all selected.
“Tom got his cap and obviously I was ecstatic for him because we’re very close friends,” said Carpenter.
“I loved being part of the squad and it was five weeks of pretty intense training – you’ve got to be on it every day.
“You can’t really have an off-day or else questions are being asked.
“It’s almost like ‘is he the right person to be here training?’ so you’ve really got to love the experience and buy into it.
“The main thing for me was to just keep learning because I was there for the first time and wanted to make a good impression.
“How do you do that? It’s about learning every day and trying to fit into the system as best you can.”
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Roebuck trained with England during this year’s Six Nations but did not play and was told by Borthwick to improve certain aspects of his game.
The message was heeded as the Sale winger was rewarded with his first cap against the Brave Blossoms.
Has Borthwick given Carpenter similar instructions as to how he could force his way into the England coach’s side?
Making that next step
“I think it’s just magnifying on the small details,” said the Yorkshireman, who grew up in Leeds.
“Your last passes, kick execution and all the small things which make a significant difference in the bigger picture but which people maybe don’t appreciate as much as running a massive try in.
“It’s about making sure that every time you get a long kick, an up and under or a last pass, that you execute it every single time.
“At the top level that makes a big difference and is something that the England coaching staff are looking for.”
Northampton star George Furbank played full-back in the first and second Tests against Japan and New Zealand in Tokyo and Dunedin respectively.
Leicester’s Freddie Steward was handed an opportunity in the final Test against the All Blacks in Auckland.
“Furbs is kind of number one at the minute with Fred in the second spot, so it’s obviously very competitive,” reflected Carpenter.
“It’s a weird one because when you get into that kind of environment you have players with similar skills, but the three of us are slightly different.
“Obviously Fred’s quite rangy, has a long kick and is good under the high ball.
“Furbs is originally a 10 so he’s got that playmaking ability and then that counter-attack and wide channel ability to beat players.
“There is kind of a full range of abilities; obviously we’re all good at very similar stuff but that’s how I look at it.
“How can I adapt some of Fred’s game into my own? Can I get some of Furbs’ game as well to try and push on and get that number one spot?”
New Premiership season
But first the small matter of downing Quins in Salford this weekend as Alex Sanderson’s Sharks bid to become champions since their solitary title success in 2006.
Sanderson has won admirers for his work at Sale and Carpenter added: “He’s a bloke who gives you a lot of confidence.
“There are lot of lads in the side who are still quite young – myself, Roebuck, Reedy (Arron Reed), Raffi (Quirke), Gus (Warr), (James) Harper; all these boys who are starting to step up and become senior boys.
“Alex has just given us all the confidence in the world from when we were young and, in our first few games, telling us to go out and express ourselves and he would back us, however we played.
“That gives you the confidence to go out and do a good job for him so, once we were doing that, he was rewarding us in other ways.
“For example, he bought Roebuck a pair of expensive trainers!
“But he’s brilliant and he backs all the boys to make the right decisions on and off the field, so he’s definitely the right man for the job.
“We’re looking to push on and do better than we did in the past couple of years by going all the way and winning the Premiership title.”
