Sir Alex Ferguson once said of Ryan Giggs: “I remember the first time I saw him. He was 13 and just floated over the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind.”
Ospreys head coach Toby Booth doesn’t bother with such colourful imagery when describing the first time he set eyes on Joe Hawkins. But he was "this kid’s got a big future" impressed. Blown away, even.
Recalling the moment this week, he said: “I have a history of helping people become international rugby players from young ages. He’s the one, as soon as I saw him, I said: ‘He’ll be an international rugby player, without a doubt’, because of the way he thinks about the game, the way he prepares himself. His mentality is very much an international player’s mindset. And he has the talent to go with it."
