WILL JOSEPH and SEB ATKINSON interview: Gloucester’s ‘N’Golo Kante and Lamine Yamal’ on turning electric club form into England centre pairing and the overhaul behind PREM leaders’ flying start

Looking out across the Kingsholm car park, Gloucester’s Seb Atkinson and Will Joseph have the sort of easy chemistry any good centre combination requires.

‘Maybe it’s something to do with Martin St Quinton, our owner,’ says Atkinson, eyeing up the unfamiliar Caterham 7 sports car in one of the bays.

‘Val Rapava-Ruskin (Gloucester’s Georgian prop) used to drive a Maserati,’ adds Joseph. ‘You’ll be due a nice one soon, won’t you Seb? Kerching!’

‘I drive a VW Golf!’ replies Atkinson, who this summer was handed his first enhanced central contract by the RFU. ‘I’m like N’Golo Kante, the French midfielder with his Mini.’

‘That’s right… the Kante of the team,’ says Joseph. ‘Seb’s our workhorse, just like N’Golo. He’s relentless. He’s always got the highest metres. Whenever we train or play a game, Seb always checks the statistics. Always running. Always chasing kicks. Always at the top.’

One eye-catching statistic is that Atkinson, the inside centre, made more post-contact metres than any other back in the PREM last season. He brings muscle to Gloucester’s backline that is complemented by outside centre and fellow 24-year-old Joseph’s stardust.

‘If we’re going for footballers, then Will is like Lamine Yamal,’ says Atkinson, picking out the 19-year-old Barcelona winger who has already led Spain to World Cup and European Championship glory. ‘Fast and skilful. He does everything I can’t do. He’s very exciting on the ball and he’s really confident when he plays.

‘You can prepare all week tactically but if you can beat your man with a bit of speed or footwork, then it doesn’t really matter what the defence looks like. I probably go too tactical at times and someone like Will brings that spark or flair that gets the crowd on their feet.’

Positivity is running through Gloucester as the club prepare to host back-to-back European champions and French giants Bordeaux in their Champions Cup opener on Friday night. 

Having finished a disappointing eighth in the PREM last season, scraping into Europe’s elite competition by a point over ninth-placed Harlequins, they are top of the table after three rounds, with their young backs flourishing.

Technical director Chris Boyd, the experienced Kiwi, oversaw a backroom restructure last season, bringing in forwards coach Brett Deacon, defence coach Joel Tomkins and recruitment chief Rob Burgess. The club then went out this summer and bolstered their pack by signing Springbok lock Jean Kleyn and Wales co-captains Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan, giving Atkinson and Joseph a platform to shine.

Gloucester are one of two PREM teams (along with Bristol) never to have lifted the league title, despite having played in all 40 seasons since the realignment to a national league system and topping the table on three occasions, only to have their hopes dashed each time in the play-offs. Is this the year the drought ends?

‘The vibe’s good,’ says Atkinson. ‘There was a little bit of an unknown in pre-season. We knew we had an opportunity to play some good rugby but we thought that in previous years and it hadn’t come through. There’s a belief that we can still get a lot better. 

‘Joel just wants to see physical people putting their body on the line, doing what it takes for the team, then getting up and doing it again. His northern accent makes a difference! We’re trying to make dominant tackles rather than just tackles.

‘Then someone like Jean makes good points around training. If you see people getting frustrated, a few scuffles, he just says, “That’s not the team we want to be”. 

‘No one is reinventing rugby. They know what’s right and what’s wrong and people buy into that. It gives us trust and belief in our game plan so everything pushes in the right direction.

‘I’ve had some tough times at this club. We don’t want to get satisfied now and fall back into those periods. We’re not here for just a couple of good games.’

Friday night’s match against Bordeaux will be Gloucester’s toughest test in recent years. The visitors are loaded with stars such as Tom Willis, Maxime Lucu and Yoram Moefana, and have won each of their seven matches against English sides in the two Champions Cup-winning campaigns. 

The French heavyweights sprung a surprise with their team selection, naming giant 23st Tonga prop Ben Tameifuna in the second row alongside 6ft 5in Cameron Woki.

For the hosts, Joseph will shift to the wing, lining up against French superstar Louis Bielle-Biarrey, a challenge he is not shying away from.

‘The double European champions are coming to our place on a Friday night,’ says Joseph. ‘Given how we’ve started the PREM, we definitely feel like we’ve got a chance to win that game and show the rest of Europe what we’re about. 

‘What a statement that could be. If you can’t get excited for this one then you’re in the wrong sport. It’s going to be like a Test match for us.’

As the man in possession of England’s No12 jersey, Atkinson knows the demands of Test rugby. Attack coach James Lightfoot-Brown celebrated his central contract in a team meeting, while the club hope the buzz around Kingsholm will convince Atkinson to sign a new deal. His current contract expires at the end of this season.

‘Things are looking positive so we’ll see,’ says Atkinson. ‘I’m enjoying being here and I’m enjoying playing with Will and everyone else. The contract with England is a funny one because it doesn’t guarantee selection in any way. It won’t change my mindset on things.

‘It shows what I’ve been doing so far has been respected by the coaching set-up. With the World Cup lingering in the background, I want to continue on that trajectory.  Everyone at the club gives you a pat on the back but it doesn’t change much in my mind. I’m gaining confidence every game I play. I want to push myself to be one of the best 12s in the world.’

While Atkinson is looking to cement his place in Steve Borthwick’s midfield, Joseph is trying to force his way back into the conversation. 

He has just one cap, earned four years ago, when Eddie Jones called him up as an apprentice for the victorious tour of Australia. Gloucester coach George Skivington believes the pair’s complementary skillsets can see them thrive for country as well as club.

‘I was 19 when I was called up by England,’ says Joseph. ‘It’s all a bit of a blur. I went in as an apprentice player, probably not expecting to play. I went in with the attitude of having nothing to lose. That was pretty freeing. I trained pretty well and was given an opportunity.

‘I hadn’t played much rugby at all at that point. I was living in the academy house, pretty immature, developing as a young man. I’ve learned a lot about the game since then. Now I know what it takes to be a consistent Premiership player. It’s an environment I’d love to be part of in the future but for now I’m focused on Gloucester.’

Joseph’s older brother Jonathan was capped 54 times by England, winning three Six Nations titles including the 2016 Grand Slam, and the famous name carries weight. 

‘When I was younger, I used to struggle with the expectancy,’ he admits. ‘I felt like I was always being compared to him. People had a perception of me and they would say, “You’re never going to be as good as your brother”. That used to get to me a bit. Now I’ve proven to myself that I belong here and deserve to be here. We’ve spoken a lot about confidence and belief and you can feel that around the building.’