“I was really small as a kid, and I honestly didn’t think I would achieve anywhere near as much as I have. Dad and I both agreed that if I made the first team at Harrogate that would be great and anything after that would be a bonus.” The opening words of Lewis Minikin, one of three players from Yorkshire to play in the England Counties team during their 10-day tour to Georgia this June.
The Hull Ionians outside centre is one of three brothers and it’s fair to say there’s plenty of sibling rivalry in the Minikin household; with his younger brother playing professional rugby for Castleford Tigers, “it’s such a big achievement all the family were really proud, and with both brother playing high levels of rugby, they understood how big it really was."
It hasn’t been an easy road over the last couple of years for the Yorkshireman. In the 16/17 season, Lewis broke his wrist in a freak rugby accident and specialists said he might never play again. Two operations later, hours of rehab and plenty of determination Lewis returned for what he says was a “good season” in 17/18.
Despite this being his second tour, receiving the news following Yorkshire’s game against Cheshire was still something special; “Dan Cook told me in person that I had been selected and it was just incredible news to hear.” The next stop was London for an admin and training day before boarding their flight to Georgia. “The whole squad met after the final of the Bill Beaumont County Championship at a hotel in London to go over key requirements, from concussion protocol to social media guidelines and of course the distribution of stash!”
It was well documented before the start of the tour that this may well be the last England Counties side due to funding restrictions being implemented by the RFU. Seen as the flagship of the community game the chance to represent your Country is something many players aspire to, “it just makes no sense and really doesn’t sit well with me. This is the pinnacle of what we play for in the amateur game. It’s an opportunity to train like a professional and represent your country. When you get the call to say you’re in there’s nothing like it; it’s just a ‘ridiculous’ achievement! If they take that away then where is our goal?”
Pushing this to the back of their minds, the players had a job to do and training in the heat and the humidity wasn’t going to put them off their stride with 2 games ahead of them against the Georgian XVs. “It felt like you’d played a full game after just half an hour!” and that was just the weather, as for the opposition “they’re a big set of people and surprisingly skilful they really tested us and broke us down. You just learn so much from different players and different coaches; it’s an absolutely incredible experience.”
In his parting shot Lewis remarked “it made mum and dad proud, and that makes me happy”, well Lewis I think it’s fair to say you made a whole county proud and that makes us just as happy too.
(Main Photo: With thanks to John Ashton)
Up next: We’ll be hearing from England County player James Tincknell and Joe Makin about their experience, so be sure to keep checking back to In The Spotlight
