What has Eddie Jones told Denny Solomona he must do to become an England star? Quit the binge-eating.
‘I like chocolate!’ grins the Sale Sharks winger. ‘I like to have a binge day when I’m not meant to. The Christmas period hit me, as I’m sure it did everyone else. You just eat until you can’t eat any more. There was turkey, gammon, Yorkshire pudding, carrots, there was a lot. Too much. And that was before the Christmas pudding!’
The traditional meal was perhaps a relief for Solomona, having experimented with veganism.
Denny Solomona’s try-scoring hot streak earned him a place among England’s elite
‘I lasted maybe three months vegan, and almost a year vegetarian,’ the 24-year-old explains. ‘It was actually quite good. I ended it a while before Christmas. I thought, “I kind of miss chicken!”
‘I might go back in the future, because it did have a physical effect on me. I feel a lot more fatigued now I eat meat, a lot more sluggish.
‘What you put in your body is what you’re going to get out. Putting bad food in you, you’re going to get bad results.’
Solomona must keep working to force his way on to one of England’s wings
It is not just on the field the England head coach is working his players hard, then. Solomona spent the start of this week in Jones’s Brighton training camp as the national side prepare for the Six Nations.
He earned his place among England’s elite having continued his try-scoring hot streak. Whatever the code, New Zealand-born Solomona is prolific.
He scored a record-breaking 57 tries in 41 matches for Castleford Tigers in rugby league, and now has 19 in 31 games for Sale since controversially switching to rugby union 13 months ago.
But that record does not mean he is comfortable with England — no one is. ‘Standard England, you’ve got to work your b******s off,’ says Solomona of the two-day camp. ‘If you don’t give your all every single day, then you’re most likely not to get picked. Eddie likes you to be uncomfortable.’
The winger spent the start of this week in Eddie Jones’ Brighton training camp
Solomona must keep working to force his way on to one of England’s wings. With Lions Jack Nowell, Anthony Watson and Elliot Daly, and in-form Jonny May favoured, Solomona cannot let up.
He was kicked out of an England training camp in August after a late-night drinking session with Manu Tuilagi, but luckily that indiscretion has been left firmly in the past, as his director of rugby Steve Diamond notes.
‘He had a little bit of a hiccup on an England camp, but he is back in the squad so I don’t think Eddie bears a grudge,’ says Diamond, who thinks Solomona is the best code-crosser since 2003 World Cup hero Jason Robinson. ‘He scores most times he plays, his strike rate is unbelievable.
He scored a record-breaking 57 tries in 41 matches for Castleford Tigers in rugby league
‘Great lad, always fit, great mentality. There’s lots of positives about him, no negatives. We just need him to get a bit more international recognition. If we can do that I think he will be one of the best converts.’
Through no fault of his own this time, Solomona’s name has been in the press again after his former fiancée — the reality television personality Jess Impiazzi — entered the Celebrity Big Brother house.
But thankfully the wing is far more interested in concentrating on his dream of playing at Twickenham. His two caps came in Argentina last June. On his debut he completed one of the most dramatic zero-to-hero comebacks, missing three tackles to concede two tries before scoring a sensational winner with time up in a bonkers 38-34 thriller in San Juan.
Having worked tirelessly to improve his tackling and positional play in recent months, Solomona now makes no secret of his desire for 2018.
The 24-year-old has 19 in 31 games for Sale since switching to rugby union 13 months ago
‘It’d be good to get a couple of caps under my belt in this Six Nations,’ he says. ‘What better time to play out on the field other than the Six Nations?
‘You never know what you’re going to get. The crowd could be hostile, the crowd could be really friendly — that’s what we play the sport for. I just can’t wait to get out there.
‘There’s no better way to start it off than if you play in Twickenham. I’m quite excited.’
If he plays at Murrayfield on February 24 he could resume a friendly club rivalry. Fellow Sale winger Byron McGuigan enjoyed a stunning introduction to Test rugby with Scotland, being named man of the match after scoring twice in the 53-24 hammering of Australia in the autumn.
The pair are jostling for position in the stats tables at the Sharks — McGuigan edging ahead on tries (seven to five) and metres gained (594 to 532) but they are level on clean breaks (17).
And Solomona would be keen to renew a competition that even extends to the ping-pong table in the team room.
‘I think I’d love that,’ he smiles. ‘Byron would too. It’d be great competition and great for Sale as well.
‘Byron’s useless at table tennis. He’s only good at scoring tries . . . he’s actually pretty decent. I just don’t want him to read this and think he’s the man!’
Today Solomona and McGuigan will be fighting together in the Shark tank, as Sale face a Harlequins side just one point behind them in the Premiership table.
And if Solomona can stay ravenous — for tries not junk food — he may well add extra bite to England’s attack.