There have been plenty of eye-catching performances in Bournville’s season but it is the under-stated efforts of captain Ben Meakin that have under-pinned the push to the top of Regional One Midlands.
The lock had a testing first season at the helm at Avery Fields as Bourns suffered relegation from the National Leagues but he has grown into the role this season and matured as a player by combining a high level of personal performance with some astute lineout calling.
While Nathan Decalmer, Sam Grimshaw, Kieran Henderson and Callum Nicholls have regularly produced eye-catching performances, Meakin has carried hard, made his tackles and run the lineout, much to the admiration of Forwards Coach CJ Osazuwa.
“Sometimes Meaks does go under the radar but we massively appreciate him. He is a great leader and a consistent performer and his lineout calling has been spot-on for most of the season,” Osazuwa said.
“He almost needs to keep his lineout calling as simple as he keeps the rest of his game. We know some of the best rugby players, especially locks, are the ones who go about their business quietly.
“He is someone who would not look out of place at the level above, or level three. He would just go and do a really good job. Every team needs a few people like Meaks in their pack. I value him massively and I’m really happy with how he has become a leader in the lineout.
“That’s also fed into the rest of his game because if you are lineout caller and you lose every second lineout it does spill into the rest of your game. But, since he has grown into what I think is probably the best lineout caller in the league, it has really helped his leadership as a captain.
“He’s still a young man so he’s still got a good decade ahead of him if everything falls in his favour.”
