Will Carling

England's recent record was one of considerable underachievement, described by one writer as a "sprawling desert of failure, stretching back as far as 1963" — they had Only Won a single Five Nations Championship since then, in 1980.

The new season offered good prospects for younger players, as league rugby was introduced for the first time, establishing a "proper system which rewarded progress"; Divisional Championships, which brought the best club players into regional teams, would not necessarily be the main method of selection in future.

William David Charles Carling (born 12 December 1965) is an English former rugby union player.

On 2 April 1983 he made his debut for England Schools in a 16–0 victory over Ireland.

He narrowly missed out on a junior Grand Slam, with an England Schools side that included Kevin Simms, Victor Ubogu and Carling's future Durham and Harlequins teammate Andy Mullins, losing 13–12 to Wales.

Having decided for a career in the British Army like his father, Carling – after a gap year – took an in-service degree in Psychology at Durham University.

This meant the "occasional weekend exercise", but otherwise military activities were rather limited.

He was an undergraduate student at Hatfield College, Durham (which had built a strong sporting reputation post-war), and was reunited with Mullins.

Carling did not enjoy the transition from school to university rugby, and claimed to have "stagnated" in terms of development.

Playing his first year at fullback, he had to accept a style of rugby that offered less creative freedom than he was used to.

Carling strongly considered giving up rugby after failing to enjoy his first year on the pitch at Durham, but found himself rejuvenated during an old boys' match at Sedbergh; and this reignited a desire to succeed in the sport.

By his own admission did not take his studies seriously and was often absent for lectures.

The England rugby team were in a period of transition following failure at the 1987 Rugby World Cup.

There was a new manager, Geoff Cooke, and a new coach, Roger Uttley, replacing Mike Weston and Martin Green.

In February 1987 Carling made his debut for Harlequins against Metropolitan Police.

He soon played for England B in a 22–9 win over France B. Carling sensed he had a chance of earning his first senior England cap when Kevin Simms, a former England Schoolboys teammate, was selected to play against Romania.

As Carling knew the strengths and weaknesses of Simms and "wasn't in awe of him", expectation that he might match this achievement grew.

Around Christmas 1987 Carling took part in an England trial for the upcoming Five Nations Championship.

Initially he and Simms were set to be part of a junior team set to test more experienced "probables" including Simon Halliday of Bath and John Buckton of Saracens; but both Halliday and Buckton pulled hamstrings, which saw Carling and Simms "bumped up".

The team list was officially published the following Monday, and after some uncertainty, Carling realised he'd earned his first callup when a university friend phoned to congratulate him.

His debut against France on 16 January was a defeat, with England losing 10-9 in Paris due to a late French score.

Later comparing the atmosphere in the dressing room afterwards to a "morgue", Carling was nonetheless pleased with his own performance.

Carling started the remaining games against Wales, Scotland and Ireland, with England winning the latter two to finish third in that years Five Nations Championship.

Though still expected to pursue a military career, Carling abandoned these plans.

He has stated that, contrary to media suggestions, he was never "fully commissioned".

He was England's youngest captain, aged 22, and won 72 caps from 1988 to 1996, captaining England 59 times.

He left with an ordinary pass degree in 1988.

In January that year, Carling, still an undergraduate, made his debut for England against at the Parc des Princes.

In May he was invited to tour with England abroad, but the start date clashed with his final exams.

Consequently, he took his exams two days early, and to safeguard examination security, was driven straight to Newcastle Airport.

Despite a less than stellar academic record, Carling had the opportunity to continue his education at the University of Cambridge and represent Cambridge University R.U.F.C., who had already recruited his Durham colleague Chris Oti.

However, Carling did not follow up the invitation, because he did not feel he would have got in on merit.

By Carling's own account, he was due to attend Sandhurst for the full officer training course in August 1988, but his status as an England international meant the army would not be able to accommodate his rugby ambitions.

Under his captaincy, England won Five Nations Grand Slam in 1991, 1992 and 1995, and reached the 1991 World Cup final.

He played for Rosslyn Park and Harlequins at club level.

In the 1992 New Year Honours, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Since retiring, Carling has pursued interests including corporate speaking and punditry.

In 2018 he joined the England coaching staff of Eddie Jones as a leadership mentor.

The son of Lieutenant Colonel Bill Carling, an officer in the Royal Regiment of Wales, Carling was born in Bradford-on-Avon and educated at Terra Nova School in Cheshire and then Sedbergh School, on an army scholarship.

He disliked being sent to prep school but showed an aptitude for rugby and played above his age group, arriving at Sedbergh – a "big rugby school" – with a reputation as a serious talent.