Paolo Odogwu (2013) took time out from the England Six Nations Squad match preparation for the game against Italy, to Zoom with just under 100 members of the KES community on Thursday 11 February. After talking about his introduction to rugby when he joined KES, he went on to describe his journey through Leicester Tigers Rugby Academy, into full-time professional sport and ultimately his inclusion in the Six Nations Squad for England’s 2021 campaign.
As ever, Paolo was very humble about his achievements in the game but enthusiastically answered the questions eagerly put to him by staff and students. Hearing Paolo fondly reminisce about winning the Greater Birmingham U12 Rugby Tournament in the same conversation as talking about being the Aviva Premiership Sevens record try scorer, receiving a man-of-the-match award for his performance against Bath in January, and learning of his inclusion in the England Squad via WhatsApp, gave our boys some perspective and hope for the possibility of what could be in their futures!
Though the interview was cut slightly short – Eddie Jones had called a Backs’ Meeting for 5.45pm (attendance mandatory) – Paolo promised to come back and answer more questions after the tournament has finished and he has hopefully gained his cap.
We are obviously all immensely proud of Paolo and his achievements and wish him all the very best of luck for the rest of the championship.
Image courtesy of Tony Marshall (Getty Images).
