Meet Noah Caluori, half-Swiss and half-Nigerian, who you will see galloping down the wing for Saracens this season.
There is not much information about him available for public consumption but Maro Itoje is here to help with that.
‘Ask him about his parents,’ says the England captain, watching his 19-year-old team-mate from the sidelines of Saracens training.
Caluori finishes his session, unstraps his wrists and takes a seat in the stands of the StoneX Stadium.
‘My dad, Andreas, is from Switzerland,’ says the teenager who, by the end of this interview, is giving a lesson in Schweizerdeutsch (Swiss-German).
‘My grandad’s originally from Graubunden, which is in the Italian-speaking part. That’s why my name looks slightly Italian. He was a chef and he met my grandma, who lived in a place called Ringgenberg where her parents owned a hotel. It was called Alpina, in the middle of the village, so they took that over and that was the family business.
Meet Noah Caluori, half-Swiss and half-Nigerian, who you will see galloping down the wing for Saracens this season
The 19-year-old winger sits down with Daily Mail Sport as he looks to burst onto the scene with Saracens
Caluori scored his first Saracens try last week, in the opening-day victory at Newcastle
‘Dad moved back out there when my parents divorced. It’s my second home. He taught me and my brother the Schweizerdeutsch dialect growing up, so we are fluent. It’s like regular German, but a few of the words are different. We are back there a lot so we get plenty of practice!’
Caluori’s father specialises in sports marketing, previously working with Swiss tennis icon Roger Federer. ‘We managed to get tickets to his last ever match. He also worked with Swiss skiing so I was always up in the mountains, watching these downhill events.
‘In the winter, we would go up the mountains and stay for a couple of days, skiing and snowboarding. Being at the top of the mountains, seeing everything covered in snow, it’s like heaven in front of your eyes.
‘In the summer, I was by the lake, swinging off these Tarzan ropes, hanging from the trees. I loved the thrill of jumping off the highest springboards, even though I probably shouldn’t have!’
When Caluori flew over the try line for a spectacular PREM debut score against Newcastle last week, his swan dive was more like a plunge into a Swiss lake.
But it was in south London where he fostered his love for rugby. Born and raised in Forest Hill, he lived with his mother, Grace, until he moved to the north side of the capital in July.
‘I was a football kid until I was 10. My mum grew up in the north of England so I adopted Liverpool as my team. I was at school when one of my coaches, Mr Linfield, told my mum that she had to get me into a rugby club.
‘I joined Blackheath because some of my friends were there. On the first training session, I knew this was what I wanted to do. Sadly, rugby got taken out of St Dunston’s curriculum when I was 15 so I didn’t get that proper schoolboy experience, but because of the Saracens partnership I got to go on a scholarship to Mill Hill for the last two years.’
Caluori’s father specialises in sports marketing, previously working with Swiss tennis icon Roger Federer
Born and raised in Forest Hill, he lived with his mother, Grace, until he moved to the north side of the capital in July
Over the past few weeks, Caluori has enrolled on a sport business management degree with Hertfordshire University, coinciding with his breakthrough into senior rugby. At 6ft 4in and 100kg, he is still bulking for senior rugby, stocking up with his mother’s homemade cooking.
‘We always have big family cookouts. Nigerian food is so good. My mum got all the recipes from her mum. If you haven’t tried Nigerian food, you have to try it! Jollof rice and stew. It looks a bit weird but your tastebuds will be in love.
‘I left home in July. Mum was a bit sad. She was like, “Oh my baby’s finally going”. She still thinks I’m 13. My brother’s at uni so she’s by herself now. It was hard for my mum at first but she’s getting used to it.
‘I go back to keep her company. And I get her to put some jollof rice in a container so I can bring it back!’
Caluori left behind his drum kit and is now living in a Saracens academy house with Angus Hall, Seva Kava, Finn Keylock, Ryan Jones, Matthew Branch-Holland, Reggie Hammick and Totoa Auvaa.
Rising up the club’s ranks faster than anticipated, he was the only player from his age group to join the senior squad on their summer tour to South Africa. He had to sing One Direction at the front of the bus as part of his initiation, taking over the microphone from Owen Farrell, who also had to reintroduce himself on his return to the club.
I hand Caluori a video of his spectacular PREM debut try against Newcastle last week and ask him to talk through it. It was a try which turned heads throughout the rugby world.
A display of raw speed and athleticism, half-volleying Farrell’s kick with his left foot, hitting a top speed of 21.7mph. The finish was just as impressive.
Caluori’s swan dive to complete his debut try against Newcastle last week
‘I got the ball, I saw the line and I just wanted to jump and score a cool try in my first game for Saracens,’ he says
Caluori will be on the bench at StoneX Stadium when Bristol Bears visit on Saturday
‘I got the ball, I saw the line and I just wanted to jump and score a cool try in my first game for Saracens,’ he says. ‘The swan dive just happened. I didn’t properly realise I was doing it until I was on the way down. I saw the picture after the game and all the boys were like, “Noah, what are you doing?” You’ve got to do something big on your first day out! I enjoyed it.’
Footage of the try even made its way to All Blacks star Rieko Ioane, who was one of Caluori’s idols as a schoolboy. ‘One of our cameramen sent it to him and he messaged back saying, “Damn!”.
‘I was thinking, “No way has he seen my try”. I was losing my mind! It was the same night of the Newcastle game and I was just thinking that one of my rugby idols had seen me play. It was crazy.’
Caluori was invited to train with the England Under 20s while still in sixth form and there is a growing sense of excitement around his potential. He is full of cheery confidence but, rest assured, the likes of Farrell and director of rugby Mark McCall will wrap a protective arm around him.
‘His aerial ability is nuts,’ said Farrell this week. ‘I just lob a kick out there and he’ll get it back. That’s a big part of the game. It can turn structured stuff into broken-field play which is what you want in attack, and he can obviously finish. He’s a big lad, but his skillset in the air is as good as I’ve seen from someone coming out of school.
‘He’s been really impressive, standing out. He backs himself massively and he’ll only get better. He’ll keep improving and keep learning. You see the kind of athlete he is, no one has really seen it yet. He took his try well the other day but he’s doing stuff here in training that’s special and it’s becoming normal. There’s not many young lads that come in the first year after school and do that. He’ll be a big weapon for us.’
Farrell’s feedback made its way back to the youngster, who prides himself on the aerial game, which has not gone unnoticed by senior figures at the club.
‘That’s really nice to hear from one of the best to ever do it,’ says Caluori. ‘That type of thing gives you the motivation to back yourself and do what you do on the weekends. He doesn’t say it to myself. Keeps me humble!
Caluori was invited to train with the England Under 20s while still in sixth form and there is a growing sense of excitement around his potential
The 19-year-old’s ability has already drawn rave reviews from Saracens club legend and returning fly-half Owen Farrell
All Blacks star Rieko Ioane is another fan of Caluori’s, and sent him a message last week to congratulate him on his firs try
‘Every time there’s a kick in the air I think, “I’m going to go get this back”. That’s one of my key strengths. I back myself over anyone to get it back and that’s a mindset that I have when the ball is in the air. I think, “Nothing’s going to stop me from getting this ball”.’
Caluori will be back on the bench for Saracens against Bristol on Saturday, as his breakthrough campaign continues. He is expected to become a key figure in the England Under 20s this season, with hopes to eventually follow the footsteps of Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Henry Pollock.
‘I just want to constantly build with each game and make sure I’m finishing my opportunities,’ he says. ‘I’ve got another season with the Under 20s so my ambitions are to win the Six Nations and the Junior World Cup with them. When I finish with the Under 20s, I want to be in a position where I’ve improved my game to be in mind for England A. Each week, I just want to make sure I’m a better player to reach my goal.’
The future is bright. By the end of the season, the world will no doubt know a lot more about Noah Caluori.
