The old wooden walls and somewhat dated soft furnishings of England’s 19th-century Surrey training base may be unchanged but Joe Marchant could not shake a surreal feeling when he strolled back in to Pennyhill Park on Sunday. When the centre last left the hotel in August of 2023, he was embarking on twin French adventures: first to a World Cup where he emerged as one of England’s most reliable and important performers; then to a three-season stint with Stade Francais in the Top 14 after leaving Harlequins.
“I think surreal is a good word for it,” Marchant smiles after earning a first recall to the England squad following his summer move to Sale. “I’ve had loads of good memories here, loads of times where I have been in camp just fighting to get my place.
“A lot has changed, especially the faces. That’s the big one walking into camp, there are a lot of lads that I’ve only seen on TV. I didn’t even play a game in England while I was in France. I’ve enjoyed getting to know all the lads.”
One would forgive Marchant ruing what might have been across his three years out of the England rugby picture. Few had foreseen him taking on quite such prominence during the tailend of the last World Cup cycle – not least Eddie Jones, who had all but told Marchant that he did not see him in his plans for that tournament. It was after that conversation that a player in his prime elected for a move to Paris, only to become a favourite after Steve Borthwick’s elevation.
But Marchant, to borrow a phrase, regrette rien. “I've never really had that mindset with a lot of the decisions I've made throughout my career. Even when I went and played Super Rugby [with the Blues in Auckland] in 2020, a lot of people said the same thing. They were like 'Oh, do you wish you'd made different decisions?' And for me, it was a massive learning experience, and I came back a better player. So hopefully this experience in France has made me come back a better player.
“It was a good opportunity to come back. I spoke to Al [Sanderson] at Sale and a lot of the messages were all similar, where he thought I was at. I said I wanted to be back in the England mix, all those kind of things, and I wanted to be back playing in the Prem. It was a hope that I would be back in here today, now I am, but this is not the concrete squad for the autumn but hopefully I can be here in a week's time.”
Courtney Lawes – overlooked for a Test return, at least initially – made the same switch as Marchant from across the Channel to the outskirts of Manchester, and recently voiced his opinion that England should reverse their long-standing policy to not pick players based overseas. His new club colleague does not take such a strident view. “We all know the rules,” Marchant explains. I made my decision to go over there at a time when I was told that I wasn't really going to play for England again, and lots of stuff going on salary cap-wise with Quins. I had this opportunity to go over and I thought it was really good at the time.
“Then, Steve came in, and I played a lot of rugby for England. At the end of the World Cup, I had had a really good experience but I was going on to something else and I knew I would not be eligible. I just hoped maybe one day that I could get back in the mixer. The whole time I was there, I watched all the games. When I was a kid, I wanted to play for England; that's not changed.”
The language barrier was an initial hurdle after Marchant’s switch three years ago, and has proved so again having returned home. “There was one, for a high ball you'd say 'J'ai'. I just styled it out with ‘Joe’s’,” he chuckles. “I styled that out okay and no one said anything, so I'm happy with that. Just little things like that.” But the 30-year-old feels his time in the Top 14 has helped him hugely, too. Ever versatile, Stade Francais used Marchant everywhere from No 12 to full-back, even if a more capricious and chaotic play style was not always to his liking.
Still, though, opportunity may knock this November with England’s centres still an area of concern. Seb Atkinson is expected to be fit for their opener against Australia and may even feature for Gloucester this weekend, and would therefore be likely to retain the No 12 shirt. Could Marchant wear 13 alongside him? For now, his first focus is simply settling back in.
“You've just got to get your head around it. I've come in from Sale now and I'm sat in my room going through all my homework of trying to get all the lingo right. In terms of that stuff and getting your connections, it's always going to be tough. That's what I was doing last night – trying to get all my lingo up and hopefully I can make the right calls when it comes to being on the field. literally just trying to listen to everything that has been going on. It seems like the boys know the direction they want to go. And I feel like, especially even in training today, you can feel yourself slotting into it in a way of being like, OK, this is where the opportunity is. You never know what can happen.”