Arundell 'felt proud' after making England return

Henry Arundell appeared for England at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, scoring five tries in a pool win against Chile

When Henry Arundell entered the field at Allianz Stadium during England's win against Fiji after a two-year absence from the international scene, his main feeling was pride.

Pride at being able to represent his country, but more in himself for taking a chance to go and play for Racing 92 in France and still finding his way to where he wanted to be.

"I took a risk to leave when I was already in the squad two years ago and then to come back and now be involved in the autumn, back in the fold for England, the feeling was more proud of myself," the 23-year-old said.

"I've taken the chance to go abroad, learn a different way of playing, learn from different people, mature - because I probably needed to - to come back and now I feel more ready than ever."

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."

The variety of nationalities of players from all over the world in France, coupled with experienced coaches such as former New Zealand winger Joe Rokocoko and ex-France fly-half Frederic Michalak at Racing, helped Arundell develop on the field.

Yet it was away from the pitch that Arundell says he had just as much growth while there.

"I had a lot of sessions with a psychologist in terms of how I wanted to approach my career," Arundell said.

"Before I was quite immature, in that selection would bother me a bit too much.

"I was too focused on what external forces were out there about me, whereas now I like to take a new approach of having close people to me who I care about a lot and then also knowing why you're doing it. Once you really know why you're doing it, it becomes quite fun."

Arundell said he feels "settled" at hometown club Bath since signing

'It's on me to show aspects of my game Borthwick wants'

At Bath, Arundell says he feels settled. In five Prem games he has scored four tries and in Opta's Prem stats he sits in the top three of the player rankings for most metres (430), defenders beaten (23), line breaks (13) and try assists (three).

"There's a difference between playing and actually feeling a part of it within the system and knowing what you can do, where you bring the best out of yourself, that's been the nice part," he said.

"Actually being settled, even coming back from the autumn, coming back here - this feels like home, it's not just my club."

Speed is very much Arundell's strength - ball in hand with defenders to run at - but he knows he has much to work on to become more of an all-round player, particularly when it comes to his aerial and defensive game.

His appearance from the bench against Fiji was his only game time this autumn - even though he did score a try with his first touch of the ball.

Arundell scored for England on his international return against Fiji earlier this month

Conversations with England head coach Steve Borthwick are ongoing about his involvement before the Six Nations.

"There's definitely a vision for me to be involved and it's on me to show aspects of the game that he wants to see. For me it's pushing that over the next eight weeks," Arundell said.

For now, the focus is on the day job now he is back at Bath and backing up the Prem title they won in June with another trophy-laden season.

"The ambition here is to have another special season like they had last year and hopefully I can contribute to that," Arundell added.

"Obviously I want to improve to get selected for the Six Nations and hopefully play more, but ultimately you just focus on what you actually do to get better all the time, rather than just for [that] period of time."