By his own admission, Obi Ene was “fuming” when he missed out on game time earlier in the season. But after re-focusing, and turning that frustration into player of the match performances for Caldy in the Champ, the Leeds-born 22-year-old has earned his chance.
Now the explosive winger, who has scored seven tries in his ten Prem Rugby Cup starts for the club to date, gets his first opportunity to impress a big audience on his Investec Champions Cup debut against the Hollywoodbets Sharks, and he’s determined to make it count.
“I’m absolutely buzzing,” he said. “I’ve been at Caldy, trying to work as hard as possible and I wasn’t expecting to start this game so it feels extra special.
“We signed a couple of wingers this season – Regan and Gurshwin – and there’s Alex Wills too. When Roebuck and Reedy got injured we knew that someone was going to get an opportunity and then when it wasn’t me, I was disappointed. In fact, that first week I was fuming and so disappointed. It was hard to re-focus.
“But I spoke to Al and he told me to keep working hard and to show my physicality playing for Caldy. Pretty quickly I restructured how I felt about it, so I channelled what I was feeling into something positive.
“I made sure that every time I trained or played, I was showing them what I could do, and almost proving Al wrong, but in a positive way.”
After being spotted playing for England U20s, Obi signed a three year deal with Sale in 2023 but combining his rugby with an accounting and finance degree at Newcastle University’s Business School meant he only went full-time at the club last season.
He made his Sharks debut in the 2023/24 Prem Rugby Cup but it was his four tries in a cup game against Caldy last season that propelled him into the limelight.
But despite hitting those heights, he knew he still had work to do to earn a shot in a big game.
“Last year my big work-on was my aerial work, and winning balls back in the air,” he said. “I feel I’ve worked hard on that and last season at Doncaster, and this season at Caldy, it’s been a real strength for me.
“I’ve also worked on my physicality and using my size to my advantage both with the ball and without.
“Going into this season, I knew that we’ve got unbelievable players in my position and it wasn’t going to be easy to get a chance. I wanted to push myself closer to the squad for the big games and to do that I just had to get my head down and work hard.
“It is a balance because I want to learn as much as I can from these guys. I’ve learned so much from Flats – people don’t realise how good he is and how much he helps all of the wingers. Guys like him, Rob, Fordy see the game differently and see things that the rest of us don’t see.
“Training and playing with them is so important. At the same time, every young player probably feels like they should be getting opportunities and that can be frustrating. But you have to become someone who thrives off that challenge. I’m playing with these guys every day and I know that’s how I’ll improve.
“Now it’s all about taking this opportunity. I need to back myself and do the things I’m good at and not go into my shell. I know that if I do well, the opportunities are there.
“One chance, one game can change everything and I want to prove that the coaches can back me to perform at this level.”
A young Obi honed his skills by watching videos of Hollywoodbets Sharks winger Makazole Mapimpi. But whether or not the Springbok World Cup winner is lining up for Saturday’s visitors, Obi knows they face a big challenge.
“Mapimpi is one of my rugby heroes,” he added. “He’s a winger I’ve always looked up to and it would be unbelievable to play against him. When I was younger I used to watch videos of him to get me ready for games and I’m hoping he’s going to play.
“We’ve had insight from our South African lads about how the Sharks attack and defend. We know they’ll compete in the air, so we need to be super physical in that department and in making sure we get hold of the scraps on the floor. Whatever team they send, we know it’s going to be a massive challenge.
“A lot of my family are coming, loads of school and uni friends too. I can’t wait.”
