Olamide Sodeke Interview: 'What we make of World U20s will be a good metric of where we are as people'
Olamide Sodeke is hoping England can end a disappointing World U20 Championship in a positive fashion
©RFU Collection via JMP UK
Rugby has a funny sense of humour, it has to be said.
You can be en route to a Grand Slam only to miss out on the entire thing on the final day. You can be world champions, but be drawn into the ‘group of death' or you can win two out of your three pool stage games and already witness the trophy slip from your grasp.
If he was looking to be challenged, Olamide Sodeke has had his work cut out this summer. A defeat to South Africa sandwiched between wins over Scotland and Australia means he and his England teammates must now endure two gladiatorial 80-minute games just to be crowned the fifth-best team in the world.
“It’s not great,” Sodeke says just a few days after the group stage has ended. “Initially, it was quite a tough pill to swallow. We knew it would be challenging to make it to the final without beating South Africa, so we were hoping France would do us a favour [v Argentina] but things didn’t go our way.”
Sodeke is rather philosophical in the face of what must be a crushing disappointment. “Our target was to win the World Cup, but obviously that’s not feasible anymore so quickly our focus shifted onto playing well this weekend. That’s all we can control at the moment.”
Champions or not, the lock/flanker will leave Italy closer than ever with teammates. If you were to spend time around the camp, you would notice the word ‘brotherhood’ thrown around by players. You would also notice it is no gimmick either. Sodeke is proud of the conscious effort the squad has made in pulling in the same direction.
“In international sport, you don’t have the luxury of spending as much time together,” he says. “So we worked out the best way to get an edge over the teams is to be the tightest group in the whole competition. It allows us to fight that extra bit harder. Having that connection makes me want to go the extra mile for them.”
Activities are organised to allow the players to bond quicker, such as weekly team meals, games of cricket or golf. Squad members are also organised into groups for team challenges.
The one to watch? Kepu Tuipulotu. A jack of all trades according to Sodeke, but importantly, also the glue that binds them. Northampton Saints’ Oli Scola is another, whose ability to make the others laugh belies the mugshot-like photo attached to his England profile.
Among all the friendships formed in Sodeke’s international career, it is arguably the one with Racing 92’s Junior Kpoku that comes across as the most endearing. The Yin to his Yang, as Sodeke describes it.
“He’s a great character. We play in the same position so it’s nice for us to bounce ideas off of each other. His energy is infectious, and I balance that with being more of a cool head. It’s good to have someone you can call a friend and not just a teammate.”
Granted, going out for weekly meals or hitting sixes behind the team’s hotel in Verona hasn’t led to winning the competition, but it is indicative of a level of maturity and initiative that bodes well for the future of England’s brightest young talent.
Credit also goes to head coach Mark Mapletoft for fostering such a positive environment. “He’s a great person, he’s a brilliant head coach and rugby man,” says Sodeke. “I’m privileged to have worked with him.”
Away from the international scene, things have been going well for Sodeke.
A Premiership debut for Saracens against Bristol Bears in January was a high point in a career that seems to be travelling on a very upward trajectory. “Unreal,” as Sodeke describes it. “Growing up watching rugby, you look at all these stars in the game, and Saracens is a club that has the privilege to have all those players at the club.”
As is to be expected, Sodeke took a brief moment to appreciate just how far he had come, to be surrounded by the very faces he had spent years glued to the screen watching.
Take a moment to glance over the list of some of the back-five options at the club’s disposal. Along with Sodeke, there is Maro Itoje, Nick Isiekwe, Ben Earl, Juan Martín González, Theo McFarland, Andy Onyeama-Christie and Tom Willis. No pressure, then.
Again, Sodeke remains steadfast in his positivity. “It’s brilliant! Saracens arguably have the best back five in the league, if not the world,” he says. “All players I can leech information off of. They’re all willing to help, which makes it all the better.
“It’s all well and good having those stars, but if they can’t transfer the information onto you, then it’s pointless. Without a shadow of a doubt, they’re all people who have been receptive to me and have been willing to share information and share their path with me.”
As part of his Saracens curriculum, Sodeke has been able to glean information from club teammate and British and Irish Lions captain Itoje, engaging in esoteric conversation about the lineout among other things.
Not unlike England Under-20s, the mantra at Saracens, he says, “is to be the most united club” that there is.
“I like to describe it as a family. It’s a club that looks after everyone’s needs. The whole premise of the club is to be a great person. That’s one thing that we value, how good you are as a person.”
To use some corporate jargon, Saracens’ approach is a holistic one. For Sodeke, it is one of the reasons the club has produced some of the country’s best talent. The immersion young players get by training with the seniors rather than seeing themselves isolated means academy players can seamlessly fit in when called upon.
Significant too have been Sodeke’s loan spells with Championship side Ampthill over the past couple of seasons. Whilst many prospects find themselves mollycoddled, he is grateful for his experiences in the second tier.
“That was quite a step up from playing Under-20s,” he recalls. “I had some preconceptions about the league and I was a bit nervous going in.”
However, Sodeke made his mark and earned his stripes, thanks in part to having familiar faces from Saracens at the club. “That helped settle any nerves I had. I’d like to say that I flourished,” the physicality suiting his hulking frame, standing at over two metres.
“I see myself as someone who influences the game through my physicality and that league relishes physicality. It was a way for me to hone my skills.”
Skills he has had to develop relatively quickly, having picked up the sport in secondary school. Playing on the weekends with friends, he had the support of his parents to turn his hobby into a profession.
“My Dad is someone who’s always made sure that I was doing multiple things. He believes it’s very important in life to be equipped with skills,” Sodeke says proudly. “I’m grateful to him for allowing me to put my nose in plenty of different things.
“My Mum is someone I’m very grateful for, very hard-working. She’s had to sacrifice a lot for me to do what I’m doing.”
Having moved to England from Nigeria, Sodeke’s parents made sure they kept him and his sister in touch with their roots, first and foremost understanding Yoruba, one of the country’s languages.
Support comes not only from those at home, but also from his aunt and cousins on Africa’s west coast, who follow his rugby journey with great interest.
However, the pride they felt when Sodeke lifted the Under-20 World Championship last year or made his first club appearance may well be matched when he completes his Business and Management degree at the prestigious King’s College London.
With a career in rugby looking like a safe bet, why give himself more work to do?
“Rugby, in the grand scheme of things, is quite a short career,” he says. “You probably retire in your mid-30s or so. It’s important to equip yourself with other skills. Also, there’s more to a person than just playing rugby.
“It’s important to develop yourself elsewhere and not let rugby take over your whole life.”
Sodeke has taken space in his schedule to cultivate interests beyond the sport. His golf continues to improve and relax him in equal measure, but it is reading that occupies much of his spare time, currently, enjoying David & Goliath by his favourite author, Malcolm Gladwell.
There is something eye-catching about the choice. Sodeke himself conveys the spirit of a David, existing in the body of a Goliath but more than anything, it suggests he has all the tools to shape his path however he chooses.
Whether it's lining up alongside his idol Maro Itoje for England, or launching a business as he plans to do after his playing career, the future holds exciting possibilities.
But before gazing on the horizon, he will be staring down any Welsh defender who tries to get between him and the try-line in Monday’s fifth-place semi-final in Viadana.
“Obviously it’s rubbish, us not being in the main semi-final, but how far can we push ourselves as a team with the style of rugby we’re trying to play?
“Are we people who are easily defeated, and go about with a ‘I don’t care’ attitude or are we people that dust ourselves off when we fall over?”
“I think that’ll be a good metric of where we are as people.”
