3rd Oct 2004 - Richard Thorpe helps out with Youth Training Session Beccs were delighted to welcome back an ex-Mini and Youth player Richard Thorpe who came down on Sunday to pass on some coaching tips to the Mini and Youth sections. Richard who is still only 19 now has a professional contract with Premiership side London Irish and has represented England at every age group from U16 through to U21. His versatility in the back-row, he can play in all 3 positions, resulted in him being called up for the England U21 squad which finished 5th in last years U21 Rugby World Cup held in Scotland, England’s highest placing ever. Richards season hasn’t got off to too good a start as he currently has a broken hand which will keep him out of action for a further 4 weeks. However, he was delighted to pop back to the club which introduced him to rugby and took a combined Youth training session and then a specialist forward and back-row clinic. He also spent some time with the U10's, the age group at which he started, who he described as 'keen as mustard'. It was brilliant seeing Richard again and as he is only a few years older than some of the lads they could really relate to some of the things he was saying. We wish Richard a speedy recovery with his hand and like to thank him for coming down, it was really appreciated by a number of the boys and we hope to see him again soon.