Nurturing young talent to transition into Senior Rugby.

Marius Thompson has received his first cap for Norway in his first year as a senior player. Marius developed his rugby at Thanet Wanderers RUFC who have worked hard in transitioning players into Senior rugby.

Cary Wright, Director of Rugby at Thanet Wanderers, said that ‘Marius Thompson, has an abundance of natural talent, and showed remarkable potential’ which led Cary to contact Ben Scully of the Norwegian Men’s team to give Marius the possibility of achieving country honours.

Ben Scully initially thought to bring Marius into the squad with the long-term aim of developing him over a number of years before placing him in a senior playing position. However, he was pleasantly surprised,  and had this to say about the young exciting player;

‘Marius is certainly a confident character, mature beyond his years, who was not afraid to embrace his role at Fly Half and as one of the teams tactical leaders. As well as a great attitude his skill set is very impressive, with his ability to kick, pass and run causing defender to second guess what he may do next. Credit must be given to both his youth and senior coaching staff at Chatham and Clarendon Grammar School and Thanet Wanderers RUFC for developing such an exciting young talent with such a well-rounded game.’

Cary Wright explained, “As part of our club’s direction, we are working really hard on development, in our local schools and we are working hard on transitioning our junior players into the senior game. It is therefore fantastic, for everyone involved at Thanet Wanderers to have such great development success so early into our 3-year plan. Without our team of dedicated coaches, players, supporters and sponsors, none of this would be possible. Everyone at Thanet Wanderers feels tremendously proud of Marius’s achievement and have no doubt that he continues to grow during this season’s International games, commencing in September.”

Marius has shown commitment and the desire to improve as a player and with the support around him at Thanet Wanderers and his school, have helped him to achieve the ultimate goal for many young rugby players.