Emeka Ilione: The medical student battering his way towards England

Telegraph

15-05-2025

Leicester Tigers' super-sub Emeka Ilione talks a lot about making an impact, although where and when these impacts are made can look very different.
Last Thursday afternoon, the 23-year-old was on a ward providing support to dementia patients at Highbury Hospital in Nottingham as part of his placement for his medical degree.
A little over 24 hours later, the flanker came off the bench to score two tries in Leicester's crucial 44-34 victory over Sale Sharks to spark raucous scenes at Welford Road. Job done thinks Michael Cheika, the Leicester head coach. 'He's making an impact as far as the game is concerned,' Cheika said. 'That's his job. That's all we want him to do. He is a very impressive young man.'
Ilione is in his fourth year of his degree at the University of Nottingham, and is hoping to follow in a rich tradition of rugby players turned doctors such as Jonathan Webb, Brendan Venter and Jamie Roberts. Indeed, it was Roberts, the former Wales centre who graduated from Cardiff University School of Medicine in 2013, who provided a reference to the university explaining that it was possible to balance a full-time degree with being a professional rugby player.
This is not without its considerable challenges. As Ilione explains, both the university and the club are incredibly supportive but he cannot skimp on either his studies or his training. In effect, this means Ilione is generally either in his kit or his scrubs 12 hours a day, seven days a week. He cannot remember when he last had a full day off from rugby and medicine.
'I am expected to do just as much as any other medical student and rightly so – if you are going to be a doctor you need to do all the training,' Ilione said. 'I do the same hours as everyone else; my timetable is slightly different in that regard. There's a lot of self-directed study time and it is organised around my training. Post-training, I will go straight to the clinic or the ward or if there is teaching.
'It is interesting at times, but it is definitely worth it. The rugby was almost like a no-brainer for me in terms of getting the opportunity to play at the highest level with your mates and push yourself physically. Medicine was always something I wanted to do and the ability to have big impacts on people's lives.
'It is such a privilege that people will tell you things that they may not have told anyone else in their lives. To be with them in that moment is why I wanted to do it. For some patients, I am someone different: I am not their doctor or their nurse, I am someone they can have a chat with. There's value in that. You get to know some patients really quite well so when a patient you spend a lot of time with passes, it is difficult. But that's the nature of medicine.'
It might not seem to be a coincidence that Exeter winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, another player of Nigerian descent, is also doing a full-time medicine degree. The stereotype of Nigerian parents pushing their children to academic excellence has a certain grain of truth in it, but Ilione says the decision to combine rugby and medicine was entirely his. 'My parents were saying 'do you realise how hard it is going to be?'' Ilione said. 'If you are going to do it, do it fully. Don't commit to it by half. But I said if you give your best and succeed then how good would that be?''
Borthwick influence
He also owes a considerable debt of thanks to Steve Borthwick, his first head coach at Leicester. 'I was initially going to go to university in London, but on A-Level results day I had a conversation with Steve who pointed out how hard it was going to be to play for Leicester and study in London,' Ilione said. 'In my head, I thought I would just get on the train and come back but then I had a conversation with my parents and we realised that it would be better to go somewhere a lot closer.
'My first three years were under Steve so he shaped my idea and understanding of what it takes to be a professional rugby player. When he joined, I had just come out of school and it was a tough learning curve, but it was what I needed to be.'
On the pitch, Ilione has enjoyed a breakout season for Leicester as a momentum-changing replacement, particularly with his jackalling ability at the breakdown. A former England Under-20 captain, Ilione's physical potential was clear, but it has taken ex-Australia head coach Cheika to unlock it by simplifying his role.
'I am an over-thinker,' Ilione said. 'I like to study and analyse things. That's probably why I enjoy medicine. Cheiks has stripped it all back and I am now playing without thinking. You can think during the week, but in a game it is all straight reaction. That's probably the main difference. I feel like I am a second quicker to do everything. I am able to play without over-thinking in my head which has been incredibly beneficial.
'I have been really fortunate to have Cheiks and the coaching group work really hard to take my game to the next level. I don't think it was a technical thing, more of a mindset thing of having that belief in yourself to go and do the things the coaches obviously believe I can do and just put that on the pitch.
'It has been a progression around how I feel in myself and having the belief in myself to go and do what I am doing. Having that trust and absolute clarity that when I carry the ball, I am not just carrying to set something up, I am carrying to get over the gain line.'
Ilione is keen to point out his pair of tries against Sale were both from mauls so were really a collective effort for the forwards.
Comeback complete ✅
Emeka Ilione's second try wraps up a 44-34 win over Sale Sharks to strengthen Leicester Tigers' grip on second in the #GallagherPrem table 👏
Look at what it means. pic.twitter.com/iHU2aj50ih
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) May 9, 2025
He takes far more pride in the jackal penalty he won moments after coming on, which is increasingly becoming his calling card. 'It is an opportunity to have a big impact on games,' Ilione said. 'That's part of the mindset of doing your job for the team but also making a huge impact as opposed to just doing your job but being hidden away.
'Those big moments in defence when you have been on the back foot for 20 phases and the boys are working so hard and then you get that opportunity to jackal and relieve that pressure… I just love that feeling.'
The Premiership is overflowing with outstanding jackallers, but none may be harder to shift than Ilione once he is locked on, which is why he might yet be in with an outside shot of touring Argentina with England this summer.
'That feeling when you are over the ball, it is my favourite part of the game,' Ilione said. 'When you are clamped on and you might be able to see in your peripheral vision that someone is coming in from a distance to absolutely whack you but if you have a good grip and a good base then I'm not moving.'