Gloucester's Jack Clement: My dream was to be a pro cricketer but I had to make a difficult decision

Gloucester Rugby have awarded their promising forward Jack Clement a three-year contract after a successful stint in the first team since the return of sport.

Clement believes securing his short-term future at Gloucester “is a really good thing,” after being offered the deal by Gloucester’s new head coach George Skivington.

However growing up, he aspired to become a professional cricket player instead of his current rugby union occupation.

“When I joined Cheltenham College, I was still playing county cricket, but when I turned 17, I was playing rugby for the first team at school. The head of rugby put me forward for a trial at Gloucester under 17’s,” said Clement, with a recently used barbell glistening from the corner of the room.

He’d just finished a home weight session, since being homebound after testing positive for COVID-19, courtesy of Gloucester’s academy gym since the first lockdown.

But despite the desire to achieve his cricketing dream, it seemed he was destined to leave it behind after captaining Cheltenham College’s rugby team to their third ever unbeaten season in the school’s history.

“Basically I was playing county cricket as well as for Gloucester’s rugby academy and it got to a point where I was playing both. I had to make a decision I didn’t want to make as I was really enjoying both,” said the 19-year-old, who also had to drop playing football for his local Sunday league side Churchdown Panthers.

“But I think the turning point for me was when I was involved in the England under 18 set up,” added Clement, who was clearly excited to relive his early international days.

He had been called up to make his England debut against France in the Aon International Series back in August 2018 and went on to play all three games of the tour in South Africa.

“For me that was when I realised, I had to pursue rugby opposed to cricket, purely because I had international recognition by then and with the cricket I was still only playing for the county,” said Clement.

“It was a really tough decision, although I’m glad I chose rugby.”

2020 has been a year to forget for many, but for Jack it’s been a year of opportunities he’ll cherish forever.

Walsall born Clement made his debut for Gloucester Rugby following last season’s Premiership Rugby restart after the nation’s first lockdown, and since has featured seven times for Gloucester, including his debut in the Champions Cup loss away to Lyon.

“It was really weird,” said the young forward.

“To make my debut with no fans and not having my family there was kind of disappointing, but you’ve got to make the best out of the worst situations. I’m just glad I was given my chance and to make my debut in the first place.”

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He didn’t only leap onto the scene at club level. England head coach Eddie Jones had seen him perform during the restart and deemed him skilled enough to be called up to England’s senior training squad in October.

“That was crazy for me because it was so out of the blue,” said Clement, who described the experience as “surreal.”

Being recognised by the hierarchy of English rugby, that he’s one of the best up and coming forwards capped off a whirlwind year for Clement.

Unfortunately for the 19-year-old, he pulled his hamstring within the first training session, but Clement dissected the whole experience and has taken a lot away from it, especially his discussions with Jones.

“He’s a pretty intense character, but he’s an unbelievable coach. The four days I was there were pretty intense as you’re always getting questioned and you’re never sure whether you’re giving the right answer or not, but it was awesome,” said a smiling Clement who had clearly thought of a moment from his time at the camp.

The Gloucester forward clearly understood Jones’ big ethos of getting better daily, whether it’s keeping on top of his weight training, or even staying consistent with his morning stretches.

“Since the camp, I’ve been doing everything to see if I can get a little bit more progression, because ultimately, that’s how you rise above everyone else.”