Henry Arundell on ‘pride’ of England return and feeling ‘settled’ at Bath

Arundell was one of England’s brightest prospects when he signed for Racing in 2023 following the collapse of his former club London Irish, with his blistering pace catching headlines instantly.

Then aged just 20, Arundell scored seven tries in 10 appearances for England – including five in a pool match against Chile in September 2023 on his World Cup debut.

The move to France meant he was ineligible for England until he signed for hometown club Bath to return to the Prem this season.

Very few young players leave England, particularly so early in their careers, knowing it might mean their chance of pulling on a national shirt has gone.

Add to that leaving your family to live in a different country with a different language and culture, and Arundell admitted it was “hard”.

“Don’t get me wrong, you get paid very well to play a sport, it’s a privilege, but those moments in the winter when you’re on a five-game losing streak, you’re not playing well, you go home and you’re on your own,” he said.

“Your family are abroad, your girlfriend can’t come out – she’s busy or she’s not meant to come out for another two weeks – you’re going: ‘This is quite hard now’.

“You learn to be with yourself and you learn a lot about yourself in terms of what you want out of the game, what you want out of your career and what you want out of life.”