The day England striker Daniel Sturridge gave Graham Kitchener the runaround at football made the Leicester Tigers lock realise he should stick to rugby. Towards the end of his three years at the Wolverhampton Wanderers Academy, Kitchener was given a tough time by Sturridge in a junior game against Coventry. Kitchener was 14 at the time and the experience helped him to decide that he should turn his attention to the oval ball. Leicester’s Graham Kitchener charges forward against Harlequins earlier this month . Kitchener is pushing for a Six Nations call-up after an impressive start to the season . Graham Kitchener, Rugby club: Leicester, Football club: Wolves, Football position: centre half . Jordan Crane – Leicester – Leeds United - goalkeeper . Danny Cipriani – Sale – QPR – left back . Mark Cueto – Sale – Crewe Alexandra – left wing . Marland Yarde – Harlequins – QPR – centre midfield . Danny Care –Harlequins – Sheffield Wednesday - striker . Alex Goode – Saracens – Ipswich – centre midfield . David Strettle – Saracens – Manchester City – right wing . Dom Barrow - Newcastle - Manchester United – centre half . The decision paid off and the 6ft 6in and 19st forward is currently knocking on the door for a Six Nations call-up. However, there was a time when he seemed more likely to pursue a career as a centre half, rather than a second-row. ‘I flirted with football for a couple of years,’ said Kitchener. ‘At Wolves, we went on tour and played against teams like Arsenal and Manchester United. ‘I played against Sturridge when I was 14. I was marking him — or trying to! As you’d expect, he wasn’t a bad player and was a pretty big unit back in the day. 'He gave a few of us the runaround, but at the time you didn’t really appreciate what he would go on to achieve.’ Sturridge now earns around £150,000 a week, while salaries in rugby are a relative drop in the ocean. But Kitchener recognised the slim chances involved with pursuing football’s mega-bucks and instead completed his A-levels and signed for Worcester Warriors. Daniel Sturridge gave Kitchener the runaround during an academy game between Wolves and Coventry . Out of his academy age-group at Wolves, only Elliott Bennett went on to play in the Premier League as most failed to make the cut in an extremely competitive market. But doors to the senior ranks opened quickly when Kitchener turned his focus to rugby. ‘I realised I was a bit more suited to the rugby environment with my size and that kind of thing,’ said Kitchener. ‘There were a few transferable skills — we focused a lot on agility and speed over a short distance, which always helps. Kitchener has no regrets turning his back on football to pursue a career in rugby . ‘We would train about three times a week at Wolves — it was tough, but not a lot of people made it so I didn’t see a massive future in the game.’ Kitchener is not the only ex-footballer to make the switch. As with a hard-hitting forward, natural size and strength is a valuable asset for a goalkeeper or defender. Jordan Crane and Joe Launchbury are both former keepers who went on to play in the pack, while Dom Barrow and Kitchener were centre halves who joined rugby’s heavies in the tight-five. Physicality is not such an important asset in the back-line and some of England Rugby’s most skilful playmakers have backgrounds as wing backs, midfielders and strikers. Saracens full back Alex Goode is one of the most intelligent readers of the game — previously he conducted play as a central midfielder for Ipswich Town. Harlequins star Danny Care used to play as a strike for Sheffield Wednesday before switching to rugby . Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care is known for his ability to snipe around the fringes of the breakdown and he used to run lines through the defence as a nippy striker for Sheffield Wednesday. Similarly, Danny Cipriani, Marland Yarde, David Strettle and Mark Cueto all played further up the field in football before becoming astute backs in rugby. At Welford Road, Kitchener is often seen breaking clear of defenders, in a way you would not expect from a man of his size. His footwork and quick change of balance helps keep defenders guessing and his form has earned him a consistent run in Leicester’s starting XV. Director of rugby Richard Cockerill has rotated his squad for tonight’s Champions Cup tie against Scarlets, with Kitchener on the bench alongside England hooker Tom Youngs and Wales hopeful Owen Williams. Kitchener is aiming high and has targeted a first cap for England . But Kitchener has international ambitions. After playing for the Saxons and being called up as injury cover for the November Tests, he is now hoping to go one better and win his first cap. ‘I loved being involved in the autumn and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about it,’ said Kitchener. ‘The reality is there are a lot of quality second-rows around England at the moment, so I just have to see how it goes.’
Graham Kitchener played against footballer Daniel Sturridge at youth level .
Leicester Tigers lock admits England striker gave him the runaround .
Kitchener decided to quit football to focus his efforts on rugby instead .
The day England striker Daniel Sturridge gave Graham Kitchener the runaround at football made the Leicester Tigers lock realise he should stick to rugby. Towards the end of his three years at the Wolverhampton Wanderers Academy, Kitchener was given a tough time by Sturridge in a junior game against Coventry. Kitchener was 14 at the time and the experience helped him to decide that he should turn his attention to the oval ball. Leicester’s Graham Kitchener charges forward against Harlequins earlier this month . Kitchener is pushing for a Six Nations call-up after an impressive start to the season . Graham Kitchener, Rugby club: Leicester, Football club: Wolves, Football position: centre half . Jordan Crane – Leicester – Leeds United - goalkeeper . Danny Cipriani – Sale – QPR – left back . Mark Cueto – Sale – Crewe Alexandra – left wing . Marland Yarde – Harlequins – QPR – centre midfield . Danny Care –Harlequins – Sheffield Wednesday - striker . Alex Goode – Saracens – Ipswich – centre midfield . David Strettle – Saracens – Manchester City – right wing . Dom Barrow - Newcastle - Manchester United – centre half . The decision paid off and the 6ft 6in and 19st forward is currently knocking on the door for a Six Nations call-up. However, there was a time when he seemed more likely to pursue a career as a centre half, rather than a second-row. ‘I flirted with football for a couple of years,’ said Kitchener. ‘At Wolves, we went on tour and played against teams like Arsenal and Manchester United. ‘I played against Sturridge when I was 14. I was marking him — or trying to! As you’d expect, he wasn’t a bad player and was a pretty big unit back in the day. 'He gave a few of us the runaround, but at the time you didn’t really appreciate what he would go on to achieve.’ Sturridge now earns around £150,000 a week, while salaries in rugby are a relative drop in the ocean. But Kitchener recognised the slim chances involved with pursuing football’s mega-bucks and instead completed his A-levels and signed for Worcester Warriors. Daniel Sturridge gave Kitchener the runaround during an academy game between Wolves and Coventry . Out of his academy age-group at Wolves, only Elliott Bennett went on to play in the Premier League as most failed to make the cut in an extremely competitive market. But doors to the senior ranks opened quickly when Kitchener turned his focus to rugby. ‘I realised I was a bit more suited to the rugby environment with my size and that kind of thing,’ said Kitchener. ‘There were a few transferable skills — we focused a lot on agility and speed over a short distance, which always helps. Kitchener has no regrets turning his back on football to pursue a career in rugby . ‘We would train about three times a week at Wolves — it was tough, but not a lot of people made it so I didn’t see a massive future in the game.’ Kitchener is not the only ex-footballer to make the switch. As with a hard-hitting forward, natural size and strength is a valuable asset for a goalkeeper or defender. Jordan Crane and Joe Launchbury are both former keepers who went on to play in the pack, while Dom Barrow and Kitchener were centre halves who joined rugby’s heavies in the tight-five. Physicality is not such an important asset in the back-line and some of England Rugby’s most skilful playmakers have backgrounds as wing backs, midfielders and strikers. Saracens full back Alex Goode is one of the most intelligent readers of the game — previously he conducted play as a central midfielder for Ipswich Town. Harlequins star Danny Care used to play as a strike for Sheffield Wednesday before switching to rugby . Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care is known for his ability to snipe around the fringes of the breakdown and he used to run lines through the defence as a nippy striker for Sheffield Wednesday. Similarly, Danny Cipriani, Marland Yarde, David Strettle and Mark Cueto all played further up the field in football before becoming astute backs in rugby. At Welford Road, Kitchener is often seen breaking clear of defenders, in a way you would not expect from a man of his size. His footwork and quick change of balance helps keep defenders guessing and his form has earned him a consistent run in Leicester’s starting XV. Director of rugby Richard Cockerill has rotated his squad for tonight’s Champions Cup tie against Scarlets, with Kitchener on the bench alongside England hooker Tom Youngs and Wales hopeful Owen Williams. Kitchener is aiming high and has targeted a first cap for England . But Kitchener has international ambitions. After playing for the Saxons and being called up as injury cover for the November Tests, he is now hoping to go one better and win his first cap. ‘I loved being involved in the autumn and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about it,’ said Kitchener. ‘The reality is there are a lot of quality second-rows around England at the moment, so I just have to see how it goes.’
The day England striker Daniel Sturridge gave Graham Kitchener the runaround at football made the Leicester Tigers lock realise he should stick Manchester United. ‘I played against Sturridge on football to pursue a career in rugby . ‘We