My Story: Mark Wilson
England back-row forward Mark Wilson talks about his journey from Penrith RFC to the Rugby World Cup.
“That dream of playing for England was always there.”
My route into rugby was relatively late.
I started the sport at secondary school, I played a lot of football as youngster and when I first got to school there was a teacher called Dean Barker who made me see my potential as a rugby player and he got me involved in the sport. I ended up taking it quite seriously and early on I would say he was a driving force in that.
Dean was a big believer in what I was doing and he got in touch with Newcastle and said, ‘look I’ve got a lad who is made keen, loves rugby and has got physical potential so can you come and have a look at him’. I owe him a lot.
John Fletcher was the academy manager at the time and he invited me to join their junior development programme when I was 14. I came through the academy with a few of the boys and the club then sent me to Northumbria University where I did part time studies before signing full time in 2010, having also spent some time at Kendall RUFC in national three.
After my first year in university I managed to play for England Students and the same year I ended up getting on the counties tour to Canada which was a great experience. Off the back of that the club invited me to train with the first team and that is where things kicked off with the seniors.
Future goals
While things happened relatively late for me internationally, one of the big things I did when I was 15 or 16 was sit down and set out where I wanted to be in the future so I set some goals.
A key thing I got told was things don’t just happen for everyone straight away, especially in rugby, people develop at different times and that was the case for me. I started to grow my game when I began playing senior rugby at Newcastle. I had a goal to be a professional rugby player by 25 and I did it by 20. That dream of playing for England was always there.
My chance came in 2015. I was there for a week with the squad for the Barbarians fixture and I was absolutely buzzing, after the match I just wanted to get back with England. It was a frustrating year or two after that as I wasn’t involved until 2017 but it gave me the belief I could play at that level and compete with players of that standard.
'Let's rip in'
When got the call in 2017 my thought process was, ‘let’s go and rip in and take this chance’. I had absolutely nothing to lose, I saw it as my chance and I was determined to take it.
Throughout my career, especially in the early stages against Newcastle I was told you’ve got to take your opportunities when you get them as they don’t come around that often. It was great to go on the Argentina tour, I had quality players alongside me, it gives you confidence to crack on and play your game.
2018 was a great year for Newcastle, to get into that top four after spending a few years down the bottom of the league was great and to have a taste of that semi final play-off spot was something I really enjoyed and loved being part of. With the England stuff, the autumn was an amazing experience and again a really good confidence booster that I can play at the highest level.
Excited and humbled
Ahead of my first senior game at Twickenham the feeling was one of just excitement, the week’s preparation we had before it and the training was great and I had total clarity in what I was going to do. I didn’t feel too nervous, I had total belief in myself and the guys - it was just excitement.
To be named man of the match was very humbling, I was pleased with how the autumn went and it gave me a taste for it. What I’ve experienced at my club has helped me deal with everything that is happening now at this stage of my career. I just want to keep adding to the team when I can.
I don’t feel I need to prove to people what I’m capable of, I just need to keep continuing what I’ve been doing over the past few years and look to learn and improve. I want to keep progressing and that’s my focus. Getting better.
Mark Wilson
