Jaidev will be winning his first international cap on Sunday 17 November, playing American Football for Great Britain against Spain. It has been a journey to get to this point.
After failing to make the London Irish DPP rugby programme in the Fourth Form, Jaidev resolved to work on his fitness and skillset by searching for activities during the rugby off-season.
After some research, he joined Parnell’s GAA (Gaelic Football) and Wembley Stallions (American Football) – both are contact team sports which were complementary to rugby.
At the end of his first season with Stallions, a Team GB scout commented that he had been impressive at a recent tournament and should continue to push himself. He was then invited to take part in the GB trials at the end of 2023 (then in Fifth Form) along with over three hundred other players. Eventually just eighty boys were chosen for the GB U17 2024 National Programme. They have had intense monthly training camps across the country (in Bristol, Coventry and Nottingham), alongside regular Zoom calls and a thirty-five page defence playbook to learn.
Having arranged an international fixture in Spain, a final “Travelling Squad” of forty-five players was announced earlier this month, with Jaidev selected as a Linebacker on the Defence team. It has been an awesome experience, making friends with talented athletes from around the country (many of them over 6ft 2 inches tall and weighing more than 110 kgs!) and all from diverse backgrounds.
The match will be live-streamed, and the link can be shared via MTSN Sports social media. Game on!
Jaidev is in Lower Sixth, and has made a brilliant start to the rugby programme this term as a member of the 1st XV squad.
