There have been some small but significant changes at Bath’s stately home training base at Farleigh House this week. Black flags, to complement their bespoke Champions Cup kit, flutter in the spring breeze and up in reception is the precise number of days and matches left this season should the club keep winning. “Choose Greatness” reads another motivational sign ahead of their last-16 encounter with Saracens.
One particular player, though, needs no extra impetus. One moment Max Ojomoh was accepting the man of the match award after a fine display for England against Argentina in late November, the next he was losing his Six Nations squad place. Even if he hadn’t turned up for this interview wearing a tight black bandana on his head, the 25-year-old would still look and sound like a man on a mission.
Potentially it will do his recall prospects some good if Bath, expertly primed by Johann van Graan, come storming out and replicate last month’s 62-15 win over Sarries in the Prem. But will it ultimately sway the opinions of those who matter? If someone’s face does not quite fit with the national coach’s vision of a World Cup-winning backline, there is only so much a player can do about it.
Welcome to the knife-edge life of every England aspirant. Invite Ojomoh to reflect on that remarkable Argentina triumph, not least his superlative cross-kick try assist to Manny Feyi-Waboso, and he even wonders aloud if he will play another Test. “If that’s the last of it, well it was a pretty good last game, wasn’t it? Looking back on it I’m just happy I got to put my stamp on international rugby.”
Sorry? The last of it? Thousands of England fans drifted home that Sunday night convinced Steve Borthwick had found the missing piece of his midfield puzzle. Ojomoh can unnerve opponents with pace, guile and deceptive strength and has the attacking radar to match. But, as he learned years ago, sometimes a thick skin can be even more valuable. “I’ve been in and out of the England squad since I was 21. So on the one hand how long are you going to be hurt by something before you’re just like: ‘Whatever.’
“I’ve been through this process so many times. When I was young and naive I used to think: ‘I’m going to end up with 70 caps. I’ve made it now, there’s no falling out of it.’ But that’s not the case. You never know when your last game is. There are lads who have finished on 97 caps and lads who have finished on three or four. Nothing is ever promised.”
It must still have been surreal to be on holiday in Morocco and watch England lose to Ireland in an Irish pub in Agadir rather than be involved himself. He thought demotion might be a possibility when he heard his clubmate Ollie Lawrence was returning from injury. “There was me, Seb Atkinson, Fraser Dingwall, Henry Slade and Tommy Freeman … with Ollie coming back it would be pointless having six centres. I knew someone had to go.
“I went alright in training but everything has to balance when it comes to team selection. You probably needed another ball carrier in there, you can’t just have three playmakers floating around.” How did the management explain it to him? “What can I say? There’s obviously nuances to playing in the centre. There are different types of player on the spectrum. You’ve got someone like myself who you’d argue is a pure second receiver/playmaker. Then maybe on the other side there’s Ollie who’s your ball carrier. It just depends what blend you want.”
Specifically Ojomoh has been told to improve his post-contact metres, defensive intensity and overall work rate. All are perfectly valid metrics but how many other English centres share his varied attacking skillset? What a shame it would be if his Test career were to splutter and die after a mere two caps, particularly as he and Borthwick live in the same city and members of their families often bump into each other.
All he can ultimately do is take a fresh mental guard and stay positive. As his dad, Steve, who won 12 caps for England in the 1990s, sought to reassure him recently: ‘The cream always rises to the top.’” With a business degree from the University of Bath and a penchant for online chess, Ojomoh Jr is smart enough to know that impressing for his club may yet shift perceptions.
Listening to him describing his instinctive rapport at Bath with the great Finn Russell – “When we signed Finn I didn’t expect us two to be so similar in how we see the game and attack”– is also to sense his enduring hunger and self-belief. “At the end of the day you can’t please everyone. There were times here when I wasn’t pleasing Johann. I made changes to my game but I still kept playing the way I played. If you’re staying true to yourself you can never really regret it. I can try my hardest to be good at everything else but everyone knows what my super strength is. That’s probably not going to change. You bring your X-factor; that’s what gets you in the team at the end of the day.”
And while Ojomoh remains very keen to make next year’s World Cup squad – “100 per cent” – moping around will help no one. “You can’t be too hell bent on these things because they’ll break you. That’s what I’ve learned over the years with not being picked. No amount of wanting something to happen is going to make it happen more. What will do is having true clarity of mind and playing like I do in my head every day.”
There is no doubt, either way, that this weekend can supply him with a decent platform as Bath seek a first home quarter-final in this competition since 2002. “When I drove in on Tuesday and the black flags were up and the ‘Choose Greatness’ sign was there, I messaged my missus and said: ‘This is a serious week I’m about to lock into here!’ Johann never fails to impress. I don’t know what it is, but he just gets it. We’re very close to being single-minded here.”
All of which helps place the England situation into further perspective. “If I don’t get picked again, I can look back when I retire and say, ‘Wow, I had a good career and I thought I was a good player.’” That’s all you need. There is a lot more to life than just these 10 years of a career.” There is still time, nevertheless, for the talented Ojomoh to choose greatness, for both club and country.
