Wildcard hooker Theo Dan is living his childhood dream! From his grandad’s garden in Romania to mad ride with England… and he still has posters of Jonny Wilkinson on his wall at home!

• Theo Dan has gone from Ampthill in the Championship to the World Cup
• Hooker in the frame for his second England start against Chile on Saturday
• Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results

It was back in his grandparents’ garden in Targu Jiu, south-west Romania, where Theo Dan spent the school holidays tearing around with a rugby ball. His grandfather, Ion Dijmarescu, was a professor at the University of Petrosani and played prop for their first XV.

‘As I kid I spent most of it not all of my summers back there,’ said Dan, the wildcard hooker in England’s World Cup squad. ‘My grandad was an engineer so he literally took some steel beams and installed two rugby posts out in his garden. We would spend days, weeks, months there just kicking the ball around.’

Dan’s parents left the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union and settled in London, taking up jobs in financial services. They remain close to their roots in Romania — all fluent in the language — but Dan’s childhood dream was always to play rugby for England.

His mother, Diana, told Mail Sport: ‘My father played until he was 36 or 37 and continued watching it until his old age. When we moved to London, my husband drove my father and Theo to visit Twickenham Stadium. Theo still has posters of Jonny Wilkinson on his wall at home! It was his dream to play at Twickenham and the childhood dream came true.’

As a youngster, Dan bulked up on plates of sarmale — a national dish of steamed cabbage stuffed with pork and rice. He booked a trip back to Bucharest this summer but it was quickly cancelled when he found out about his surprise selection by Steve Borthwick. ‘Every time we go out there, especially in the summer time, you come back two or three kilos heavier!’ said the hooker.

Hooker Theo Dan (above) has gone from Ampthill in the Championship to the World Cup

A young Theo Dan (white top) in his grandparents’ garden in south-west Romania

The hooker is in the frame for his second England start against Chile on Saturday

‘Both my parents are fully Romanian. My bloodline is from Romania but I was born in the UK, grew up in the UK, went to school here. I consider myself as English as they come. For me it was always the case that I dreamt of playing for England.’

Twelve months ago, Dan was playing in the English second division, sent out on loan from Saracens to Ampthill to cut his teeth in the world of the front row. His dream became a reality sooner than expected.

‘It’s been crazy to look back on it,’ said Dan, 22. ‘To go from 12 months ago playing in the Championship to being at the World Cup, it’s been pretty wild. I started the year as fifth or sixth choice at Sarries. It’s been completely nuts, to be honest.

‘At Ampthill, only a handful of them will be playing full-time, being paid a full-time wage. A lot of them are teachers, some are working in manual labour, the flanker goes roofing during the day and then comes to training in the evening after a one-hour nap.

‘I learned so much from that time in the Championship. You form some close links with some of those boys. They’ve all been in touch, wishing me the best.’

He received a scrummaging education in the Championship — ‘getting drilled’ away at Jersey — to complement his powerful and dynamic ball-carrying. It set him up to forge a reputation as a game-breaking hooker with Saracens, booking his place at the World Cup after a remarkable cameo in May’s Premiership final.

He started England’s final warm-up against Fiji and has made regular appearances from the bench. Against Chile this weekend — a team whose captain also plays in the Championship — he may well be handed a more prominent role. It would be another pinch yourself moment in his remarkable year.

‘The environment is all new to me,’ he said. ‘There was a lot to get familiar with in terms of schedules, training and getting to grips with the demands of an England player. It is a massive step up.

‘It’s been a really rewarding learning curve, I’ve loved every minute of it.’

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