At the beginning of the season, every player in the Leicester Tigers squad queued up to have their arms measured.
Geoff Parling, the club’s new head coach, is a stickler for detail. He wanted to know his players’ wingspans because long limbs help with the mechanics of the breakdown and the lineout.
Emeka Ilione, his 23-year-old forward, was at the top of the charts. His impressive reach has helped him become one of the PREM’s cleanest turnover threats, earning him a first call-up to Steve Borthwick’s England squad for the autumn campaign.
He is third in the league for turnovers per game since the start of the 2024-25 season – behind Will Evans of Harlequins and Bath's Guy Pepper – but what stands out is his ability to pick the right moment. His penalty count is low and he has a record of delivering big defensive interventions in pivotal final-quarter stands.
With Tom Willis left out of the England squad following his decision to move to France at the end of the season, Ilione has been earmarked as one of the players who could fill the void at No 8.
His combative performances for Leicester have caught the eye and he could end up playing a supporting role to Ben Earl, who has the shirt for England right now.
Emeka Ilione has burst into the England squad after impressing for Leicester Tigers
The 23-year-old has the longest arms in the Leicester squad and puts them to devastating effect at the breakdown
He has now been earmarked by Steve Borthwick as an option for England's No 8 shirt this autumn
‘Emeka’s very powerful and strong, so once he gets on the ball, he is difficult to move,’ said Parling. ‘But he's also got these long levers. He's got these long arms. So he's probably not your traditional jackler, doing it with those long levers and arms. But he’s quite a clean jackal threat and he’s smart with his decisions.’
Ilione is mild-mannered and academic, balancing his rugby commitments with his medical degree at Nottingham University, having been head boy at Rugby School. He has come through Leicester’s no-nonsense finishing school, receiving some tough love on the training pitch at Oval Park.
According to his former team-mate Mike Brown, Ilione has turned his ability over the ball into his ‘super-strength’.
‘A couple of years ago, he was really enthusiastic, diving into every single breakdown to try and turn the ball over,’ said Brown. ‘There’s no point diving into a ruck if someone’s already got over the ball. I spoke to him about it and told him to pick his moment and wait for the right opportunity. The coaches said it, too.
'Now he bides his time and makes the right decision about when to go in for a ruck. It’s waiting for those moments where you can see a bit of space between the guy carrying the ball and the support player. If someone’s a bit slow in support and you see daylight around the ball, then you nip in.
'That’s been his biggest improvement. He’s super humble, quite quiet, good energy, desperate to learn. When you give him feedback, he takes it on board. There’s no arrogance, he just gets on and does it.
'The other thing he looked at is when the tackling player has rolled away, noticing that, because if they’re stuck in there then you can end up getting penalised.
‘His decision-making is so good now. He’s in a similar jackal mould to (Tom) Curry and (Sam) Underhill. Some turnover stats can be misleading. Some back-rowers have high stats because they go to every ruck, sit behind the defensive line, waiting for someone else to make the tackle, and therefore get a decent amount of turnovers.
Ilione is mild-mannered and academic, balancing rugby with his medical degree at Nottingham University. He has come through Leicester’s no-nonsense finishing school
He was head boy at Rugby School and a star of England's age-group sides
'Those stats don’t show how many you don’t get. Emeka is so efficient now. He picks the right one.’
At 6ft 2in and 18st 2lb, Ilione is difficult to shift. Only Chandler Cunningham-South offers more weight in England’s back-row options and he is unlikely to feature against Australia on November 1 due to injury.
Henry Pollock offers more dynamism with his running game but Ilione has impressed with his powerful carries in the opposition 22. His physique lends itself to close contact, finessed by wrestling sessions in a five-metre grid to improve his grip work and grappling.
‘In training sessions at the start of last year, he might have waited for moments to unfold and then realise he’s out of position,’ added Brown.
‘I screamed at him a few times to get into the attacking shape quicker. Some guys might tell you to shut up but there was no attitude, he just took it on board, asked questions, fixed it.
'He’s obviously a different profile of player to Earl, (Alex) Dombrandt and Pollock, who are more dynamic and less about putting their weight over the ball. But Emeka is athletic, too, he just needs to go in there and show that he’s ready to take the step up to international rugby.’
Borthwick singled out Ilione’s work after naming his squad on Monday. The England coach wants versatility from his back-rowers, moving on from the days of specialist skillsets. Converted flankers Curry, Earl and Pollock have all spent time in the No 8 shirt.
‘Emeka’s performances in the second half of last season were exceptional. Most of them were off the bench finishing games and he had a big impact,’ said Borthwick. ‘This season he's continued that, including his ability at No 8. You would all sit here and go, “He is fantastic over the ball”.
Henry Pollock (left) offers more dynamism with the ball for England but Ilione has the edge defensively
Borthwick singled out Ilione’s work after naming his squad for the autumn series - the England coach wants versatility from his back-rowers, moving on from the days of specialist skillsets
'I'll add a slight nuance to that - he's fantastic over the ball, stealing ball and not conceding penalties. He's the best I can see at stealing the ball and doing it in a way that means the referee rewards him and doesn't give penalties against him, which is terrific. That's hugely valuable.
‘He also has a powerful carry, particularly a tight carry through tight defences. Most back-row forwards will carry a little bit wider, he'll carry tight. I refer you to the Premiership final, the carry he made in the opposition 22 carrying through traffic.
'That's a prime example of the type of carrier he is. That is what he brings. I enjoy him as a person. He is clearly an intelligent guy, has interests outside of rugby and I think he is good around the squad.’
Now Ilione has been called into Borthwick’s plans, he just has to put those long arms to work and grab his opportunity.