When Eddie Jones said every club would now be looking in the bars of Cardiff Met for rugby players, it was a classic quip from the garrulous Aussie.
But, on a more serious note, he also called the Cyncoed college “a popular breeding ground for Test match rugby players” and he has provided further proof of that with the latest addition to his England squad.
Jones has just drafted in uncapped London Irish back row forward Tom Pearson, a 22-year-old who only graduated from Cardiff Met last summer.
Pearson follows in the footsteps of two other former Met students, Harlequins duo Alex Dombrandt and Luke Northmore, who are already part of the Six Nations group.
He hails from Herefordshire, having begun his rugby journey with Bromyard RFC and Luctonians, ahead of moving to the Welsh capital for his studies.
Having made a big impact as a rampaging second row in BUCS Super rugby and the Welsh Championship, he actually trained with Cardiff Blues last season.
But he opted to return to England by taking up a contract offer from London Irish and has really hit the ground running with the Exiles, utilising his sizeable frame to good effect on the openside flank.
Met forwards coach Alun Williams says the 6ft 2ins Pearson caught the eye from the moment he first turned up at training back in the autumn of 2018.
“He came in as a fresher and straight away we went ‘Ooh, hello, he’s physical’,” he recalls.
“He just smashed people for fun.
“Even though he was pretty skinny kid at the time, we spotted his physicality from the outset.
“So we put him straight into the high performance group, our top 50 players, giving him strength and conditioning coaching and nutritional advice.
“He came into us at about 15 and a half stone and left at about 18st.”
As with other talented arrivals from England, Pearson was asked the usual question.
“The first thing we do is grill them to see if they have got any Welsh qualification,” said Williams, who works alongside Danny Milton and Ian Gardner on the coaching front.
“Tom is from Hereford way. His parents run a garden centre up there.
“He is quite close to Wales geographically, so we were asking ‘Have you got any grandparents who like Welsh cakes?’, you know!”
As it turned out, Pearson is English through and through, but he was still very much of interest to Cardiff Blues, who invited him on board to train with the senior squad from November 2020 to February 2021.
That was when no training was allowed outside pro sport due to Covid regulations, so it was a real benefit to the player.
Discussions were had on a possible contract, but he decided to take up the opportunity at London Irish.
“Tom trained with the Blues, as they were, last season,” said Williams.
“He went in for about six weeks with them, at the same time as Ellis Bevan, the scrum-half.
“That was through Danny Milton’s relationship with Gruff Rees. So they do keep an eye on what we are doing.
“But what you can’t do is make an Englishman Welsh.
“Tom was never going to play for Cardiff and neither was Alex (Dombrandt) because they wanted to play for England and they got offers from English clubs.
“The only way they would stay in Wales is if they didn’t get offers from over the Bridge. The same with Luke Northmore. He was always going to go back to England.
“That’s just the way it is and it’s understandable. They are English players.
“When people were talking about Cardiff not signing Alex, I thought they were unfairly treated there.
“We get a lot of the Welsh regional coaches come to our home games. We work very closely with the regions and have a healthy relationship with them.”
In the case of Pearson, Cardiff Met had an early alert that he was on England’s radar.
“About two months ago, Eddie Jones got in touch with us through a contact to ask about Tom, what he was like personality-wise and whether he would cope with playing international rugby,” said Williams.
“He did the same with Luke Northmore. The fact he is doing that research just shows the lengths he goes to. He is making sure he is bringing the right people in, with the right attitude, the right mentality and the right physicality, so there’s a bloody good chance they can play international rugby.
“He is not leaving any stone unturned. Fair play to him. You can’t fault him really.”
So is Jones now being viewed as almost an honorary Cardiff Met member?
“Sort of, as long as he says nice stuff about us,” replies Williams.
“It all depends how England get on against Wales!”
As for Pearson’s rapid rise to international rugby after just 10 outings for London Irish, Williams says: “We are not surprised at the progress he has made.
“He will take it in his stride. He is pretty level-headed.
“Since he has made his debut for London Irish, he has hardly missed a game.
“They are playing him at 7. He’s not an out-and-out openside, as we would recognise, but they are looking to get their three best back rowers on the field.
“He is keeping some good players out of the side.
“Tom is a really nice guy as well. When he got his contract with London Irish, the first thing he did was offer to take the three of us out for dinner.
“That shows his maturity and how much he appreciated what we had done for him.
“We thought that was fantastic. It was a pleasure to coach him, to be fair.”
Williams says Pearson is a different type of forward to ‘Quins No 8 Dombrandt, who also packed down at lock during his college days.
“Alex is without doubt the most talented rugby player I have ever coached in my life,” said the former Newport prop.
“I think it’s a God given talent that he’s got, with his ability to spot a gap. For such a big man, he’s got electrifying pace over 25 metres.
“Then, add to that, his skill levels with ball in hand, he is just brilliant.
“Tom and Luke are two examples of players just really working hard and developing what they have got.
“With Tom, that is pure physicality. But, in fairness, he has probably got more of an all-court game than Alex, who is an out and out attacker.
“Tom is a destructive defender, but he has also got an eye for a gap and he is quick and a very powerful ball carrier.
“He takes some stopping. He is a big man and very, very physical.”
So what about Jones’ line about the bars of Cardiff Met being the place to find rugby players?
“It was funny really because while these boys do have a bit of fun, you won’t find them in the bar, you are more likely to find them in the gym,” said Williams.
“We churn a lot of players out and always have done.
“It’s just over the last couple of years, we have been fortunate to have these three who have come right into the spotlight with their England call-ups.
“It gives us fantastic coverage, which helps us massively in our recruitment. It’s just nice to get that recognition.”
Williams, who has coached at the college for some 15 years, added: “I’m a born and bred Welshman, but you are so proud to see people you’ve coached going on and playing international rugby.
“Kieron Marmion, who played at scrum-half for Ireland, was the first one for me.
“You just think ‘Wow, this is incredible’ and you don’t care who they play for, you are supporting them.
“It just fills you with absolute pride and it’s why you do the job. Long may it continue.”
Aaron Wainwright is, of course, another international who was previously part of the Cardiff Met set-up.
For Williams, it all throws up a dream scenario when it comes to future Wales-England games.
“What I would hope for is the three English lads to play out of their skins and be brilliant but Wales win, with Aaron scoring the winning try in the corner!” he proclaims.
“That would be amazing.”
Sounds a pretty good deal!
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