Geoff Parling: The Slow Crank to the England Ranks
The journey from rugby anonymity to England's starting second row specialist has been one of the longer roads to the top for Geoff Parling. The 28 year old Leicester Tigers Lock was born in Stockton-On-Tees and after working his way through Durham school and Newcastle University with degrees in Economics and business, Parling subsequently signed for Newcastle Falcons in 2003.
Despite representing England up to and including under 21 level and a few scattered performances here and there Parling didn't establish himself as a first team regular at Newcastle until 2005. In his first full season he received the 'Player's Player of the Year' award. An incredible achievement considering Jonny Wilkinson, Colin Charvis, Toby Flood and Mat Burke all featured in this Newcastle side. It's a great testament to the skills Parling possesses and the respect he commands on the pitch amongst team mates and opponents alike. The following season Parling stepped up to take the captaincy on several occasions, showing how much he was growing as a player and a leader. Parling played for Newcastle Falcons from 2003 through to 2009. although he didn't win any honours during his time at Newcastle he did manage to claim runner-up spot for the 'Gatorade Performance of the Season' award in his final year at Newcastle only losing out to the illustrious Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbé.
In the 2009/10 season Parling joined up with Leicester Tigers after amassing a respectable 116 appearances and 30 points in 6 seasons for the Falcons. Parling had an impressive maiden season with Leicester Tigers making 30 appearances, culminating in him picking up a winners medal for the Aviva Premiership Final and being crowned 'Newcomer of the Year' by the Leicester faithful. Along with these great accomplishments Geoff Parling received his long awaited call up to the England squad to tour Australia and New Zealand and featured in the first test against Australia Barbarians before disappointingly suffering a neck injury which kept him out of the rest of the tour and prevented him from starting the season with his Tigers team mates. When Parling returned from injury he managed to play one minute of rugby before being struck down by a tragic knee injury which then kept him out for the rest of the season. A moment Parling describes as the worst of his career.
Luckily for Leicester, Parling came back stronger and more determined. The self confessed line out geek put in consistently solid performances for Leicester yet again before getting drafted back into the England EPS (Elite Player Squad). Then the Six Nations arrived and Parling found himself with a place on the bench against Scotland at Murrayfield. He picked up his first test cap when he stepped off the bench to replace Tom Palmer. After another substitute appearance against Italy Parling was primed for a start against an ever improving Wales side. Selected for his exceptional ability in the line out, Parling continued to draw the plaudits despite England narrowly losing to the Welsh. Starts in the victories over France and Ireland followed and impressive performances throughout the tournament seem to have cemented his place in the starting 15.
So what's next for Geoff Parling? Well he has already expressed a desire to continue his great form for his club and challenge for the Aviva Premiership Title. There is also talk of a British and Irish Lions call up. Parling looks set to pick up plenty of caps for England and that may be peppered with a handful of Lions appearances. By the looks of it, it could also lead to some international and domestic silverware along the way. It's been a long road for Geoff Parling but at last he has arrived on the international stage.
