Jordan Holgate on Round One of the Champ

Inside centre Jordan Holgate talks through scoring tries and previews Bedford clash 

In last weekend’s outing against Hartpury, inside centre Holgate scored two tries in the final pre-season game.

He has cemented his place in the starting XV ahead of Trailfinders’ Round One clash against Bedford in the Champ.

“I’m not sure the tries that I scored were just my doing,” Holgate said on his double score at Hartpury.

“I think the boys put us on the front foot in that match. The forwards got us all the way down into the 22 and I was lucky enough to get on the end of a few nice moves, so I’ll take them as they come, and hopefully we can continue that going into the season with a tricky start against Bedford.”

Last season, Bedford came second in the league.

“I think Bedford’s known for the attacking styles of rugby over the last couple of years,” Holgate said.

“But especially last year, I think they narrowed it down and found their strengths and found their forward pack and came with more of a game plan and were more of a set piece dominant side and competed there most games, which showed the threat they are when they actually get those things working.

“We expect for them throw everything at us but we’ll be ready.”

This weekend, there are four debutants in Trailfinders colours: Conor Oliver as skipper, Kyle Hatherell, Rory Scannell, and Sam Edwards.

Holgate commented on the value the debutants will add to the matchday squad.

“I think they’ve been been hugely instrumental in our preseason. They are big leaders. They’ve come from from big clubs and have a lot of experience, especially with Conor, Rory, and Kyle coming from big teams.

“I’m excited to see how Sammy goes as well on the bench. So yeah, very excited to see how they go. They’ve been putting in the hard work for preseason.”

This weekend will be the Club’s first Saturday afternoon kick-off since starting the season. Holgate discussed his pre-game preparation ahead of the Saturday afternoon game.

“I think it’s about getting the morning right. You don’t want to peak too early. I think it’s quite tricky but we’ve got a great team around us to help us with managing that. With preseason, we had a lot of Friday night kickoffs, which leaves you the whole day to get prepared.

“Now that we’re back to the three or four o’clock kickoffs, I think that will become more of a routine and we can actually get some structure going into our day ahead of those timings.”

Originally from South Africa, Holgate has immersed himself in the buzz of London life.

“I love how busy it is and the city kind of life,” Holgate said.

“I’ve basically been near the beach for a lot of my life as I’m from Cape Town and I lived in Jersey for a couple years, which was awesome.

“So it was definitely a culture shock coming to London, but I’m slowly getting into that.

“I’m enjoying my football a lot more now. I’ve been Brentford as I live next to their stadium so I’ve been supporting them, and been watching a few games with my partner from Australia. It’s been good to get into that and see a different sport and different profession, which has been pretty cool.”

With a diverse contingent of players at the club including Englishmen, Scots, Irishmen, and South Africans, Holgate commented on how the Club is a home away from home.

“There are loads of Saffas in London and I guess all over the world. Wherever you go, you’ll always find a South African or an Irishman.”

“We’ve had a braai pretty much every weekend. It feels like I’m not too far from home.

“Lamb chops are always my choice for a braai. We need to get some more in the diary with the team. And we’ve got a lot of Scottish guys at the Club now so we’ll have to expand to having some haggis.”