England star Lewis Ludlam watched dad get punched in face in ‘unsavoury’ setting

Lawes reviews England’s Rugby World Cup semi-final loss to South Africa

England flanker Lewis Ludlam decided to go against his family tradition by getting into rugby as a youngster and has not looked back since. The 27-year-old made three appearances at the Rugby World Cup for Steve Borthwick’s side before they were knocked out by South Africa in the semi-finals last weekend.

Ludlam grew up in Ipswich as part of a family who followed boxing and football and things could have ended up very differently for him if he had followed in his father’s footsteps. He spent much of his childhood watching his dad compete in white-collar boxing events in ‘unsavoury’ environments, which saw him exposed to violence and drug use from a young age.

“He started off in football and boxing as a kid,” explained Ludlam in an interview with i earlier this year. “Later on in life he just said: ‘I’m going to pick up the gloves again’, and I remember going down and watching him fight.

“Being in old nightclubs in white-collar events and there’s people doing lines of cocaine beside him in a changing room and he’s just up into the ring, job done, go home. I was 14, 15 [years old] and a few dodgy things happen, like people running off with money at the end of the night and no one getting paid and people getting knocked out and no weigh-ins and no doctors at events.

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“I think you’ve got an understanding when you’re that age when things aren’t quite right, and it’s uncomfortable. I think he probably wanted me to go in and see that. He’d always supported me through football, through rugby, when I was younger, so to be able to watch him was something I wanted to do as well.

“He didn’t want to get knocked out in front of his son, wanted to put on a good show in front of everyone that was watching, and show me that you’ve got to remain true to yourself in some pretty unsavoury environments.”

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Ludlam went on to admit that he loved the adrenaline of watching his dad in the ring, which he credits with shaping him into the person he is on the rugby pitch today.

“It’s a weird feeling seeing some bloke punch your dad but when your dad wins, there is no feeling like it,” he added. “It feels like you’re in the ring yourself. Especially when you’d have 200 people in the room, all shouting abuse at your dad or the other guy, and shouting to knock your dad’s head off. I probably took some good learnings from it.”

Ludlam has since drawn upon his childhood experiences to forge a successful career in rugby, having earned 24 caps for England since making his international debut in 2019. He still has plenty left in the tank at 27 years of age and will be hoping to represent his country again at the next Rugby World Cup, which will take place in Australia in 2027.

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