Childhood dream comes true for Huw Sutton after making Ospreys debut in European Rugby Champions Cup

BY STEFAN FROST

A childhood dream came true for Huw Sutton last month, when he debuted for the Ospreys in the European Rugby Champions Cup against Sale Sharks.

The second row grew up in Plumstead and began playing rugby with Blackheath aged five, kickstarting a sporting journey which reached new heights on January 23, 2022.

The Ospreys may have lost 49-10 to Sale that day but that won’t bother Sutton, who will never forget the moment that he took to the field for the Welsh outfit.

“It’s the same game, the same sport – but it was like nothing I’ve ever really done before,” he admitted. “I wasn’t shocked in the team meeting beforehand. I went in knowing I could be picked and then the coaches confirmed that I’d come on.”

He ended up coming off the bench to play for 15 minutes in his first taste of European rugby. Many players fold under the pressure of the professional game but Sutton has taken the experience in his stride, citing how beneficial his time playing for Swansea University was.

“My time at university helped me massively,” he said. “I got to play in plenty of high-pressure games where I needed to front up. The set-up is a lot more professional at universities now and that makes it a lot more competitive.”

Sutton enrolled for a business degree in September 2019, competing for his university in the BUCS Super League and for Swansea RFU in the Welsh Premiership that same year.

he played his school rugby at Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar, moved from Blackheath to Old Elthamians aged 15 and represented Kent rugby up until U20 level. Throughout this period Sutton was not selected by any English academy.

“Not going through any academies made it easier for me as I wasn’t moulded to one team,” he said. “I was free to do whatever. I wasn’t stuck somewhere and I still enjoy the game because of that.”

Sutton spent three years with the Welsh Exiles as part of their player pathway programme which earn a spot in the Wales U18 development squad.

Nonetheless, the transition to this new level was not seamless. The coaches, realising that Sutton did not have the academy experience of his counterparts, thought that he could benefit from exposure to more high level rugby. As a result, Sutton was put in contact with Alhambra Union RFC in Dunedin, New Zealand, where he ended up competing in the Senior Metropolitan League in his year out after school.

“It was tough to begin with in New Zealand but I’ve never been one to get homesick,” he said. “I was pretty comfortable being away because I was playing rugby and just got stuck into it. You can get anywhere in rugby if you work hard at it.”

Flash forward to May 2021 and Sutton was being invited by the Ospreys to attend trial training sessions for the first team.

“There were a lot of nerves in the first week of it,” he claimed. “The trial had no end date which meant every day could have been my last day, but I managed to deal with it all and show them what I could do.”

The Ospreys offered Sutton a place on a two-year young player pathway programme, which has enabled him to continue his degree on a part time basis. Ospreys head coach Toby Booth, incidentally the former captain of Blackheath, has also pushed for Sutton to resume match action for his university side and Swansea RFC.

In many ways, Sutton is living the best of both worlds. He shares a house with three other students who are also contracted by the Ospreys and is still reaping the rewards of university life. But he does have to deal with the stresses of studying and has admitted that sometimes he thinks about his academic workload during training.

That is not to say he finds training gruelling. Far from it. Sutton has the luxury of being mentored by fellow second rows Adam Beard and Alun Wyn Jones, both of whom have impressive international careers.

“I speak to the other locks every day and take tricks and advice from them, especially about how to contest lineouts,” Sutton said. “The first few weeks were a bit of a shock but then you realise that all the basics are still the same and I’ve just built off that.”

Sutton is learning from some of the best in the business and intends to keep pushing himself to break new ground in rugby.

“Right now I’ve got a sniff in the squad and I’m working to get the trust of the coaches,” he said. “I just want to get a few years under my belt and see if I enjoy it. This year has already been a bit of whirlwind. Let’s just see where it goes.”