BEN LOADER INTERVIEW: Why ‘explosive’ Gloucester will set the Premiership alight this season – and how South Africa stint primed me to break back into the England reckoning

Most families indulge at Christmas, but the annual feast enjoyed by Ben Loader at his childhood home on the outskirts of Reading was one even Henry VIII would have been envious of.‘At Christmas we’d have the traditional turkey, roast potatoes and pigs in blankets,’ begins Gloucester’s new flying winger, having sealed a move from the Cape Town-based Stormers. ‘But we’d also have west African food – jollof rice, okra, egusi.‘It was two Christmas dinners at the same time! I loved it, the best of both worlds. My mum would cook the house down. We’d take it way too far. It was some spread, just fantastic.’Loader draws heavily on his African heritage. His mother, Celine, was born in Cameroon, his brother represents the same nation in football, and Ben had his two-year stint with the Stormers. The family made regular trips to both Cameroon and Nigeria when Celine worked in banking and oil.It is why when Loader’s boyhood club London Irish collapsed in June 2023, he jumped at the chance to do something most English players shy away from. For many, the Stormers move would have been daunting. But having travelled through Africa from a young age, and seen Danny star for Portuguese giants FC Porto, Loader didn’t look back.‘The west African history of my family has always been a massive part of mine and my brother’s life growing up,’ says Loader, who shares the middle name Edimesumbe with Danny and Celine. ‘There’s a different feel about the place. I love it. It’s shaped a large part of who I am and it’s something I’m incredibly proud of. I’d been to South Africa before, but never to live and to play. Ben Loader is back in the English top flight with Gloucester, after two years with the Stormers in South Africa For many, the Stormers move would have been daunting – but Loader jumped at the chance ‘The Stormers opportunity was hugely exciting for many reasons. The pathway of being a British rugby player and going to South Africa is not one that’s well-trodden. Most do it the other way.’It came at such a dark time with what happened with Irish. But why not take a punt? It was an amazing life experience and I got to play rugby with and against some of the best players in the world. I’m super happy I did it and it’s led me here as a result.’Loader is talking at Kingsholm, his new home, ahead of the start of the 2025-26 PREM season, which begins on Thursday with his Gloucester side travelling to Sale. They narrowly missed out on a play-off spot last season, finishing two points behind fourth-placed Bristol, and have seen 20 players leave the club this summer.That includes internationals Gareth Anscombe, Christian Wade, Santi Carreras, Zach Mercer and Chris Harris, but the club are confident they can go again with a host of new faces including Loader, Will Joseph and Ross Byrne.‘Ben is really exciting,’ says George Skivington, Gloucester director of rugby. ‘I coached him at Irish when he first came out of the academy and I remember everyone thought he was going to be the real deal.‘He played very well for Irish and then had a different experience in South Africa which was brilliant for him. He comes back to the PREM a man now. He has all the potential in the world and could go on to bigger and better things if he can deliver in the PREM week in, week out.’I know he was on the England radar previously. I think he could very easily find his way back on it. The Gloucester faithful can get really excited about him.’Cherry and White fans have become used to explosive wingers. When former club favourite Louis Rees-Zammit came back on the market in the summer after ending his attempts to join the NFL, Skivington insisted he was happy with his lot. Loader’s arrival was part of the reasoning. The arrival of Loader was one of the key reasons why Gloucester did not go back in for former flyer Louis Rees-Zammit (left), who is back from the NFL and joined rivals Bath instead  Danny Namaso (left), Ben’s brother, is a professional footballer on loan at Auxerre from Porto‘Being English, the age I am and the advancements I think I made in my game in South Africa, it all meant I wanted to come back,’ says Loader.‘I wanted to be closer to family too. I’m excited to be back in the PREM. The Stormers was a difficult place to leave but I think the time was right. I don’t have any regrets and I’m excited for the new challenge.‘The pull of being back in England and putting my name back in the England hat again is something that’s exciting. I felt like I’ve been close in the past to making that jump. Everyone has international ambitions. Lots of things have to go right for that to materialise. But you have to keep driving towards it.’Loader represented England at Under 20s level, and played for an England XV in a non-cap friendly against the Barbarians at Twickenham in 2019. Steve Borthwick is blessed with talent, but Loader’s return home will only add to his options.Loader moved to Cape Town on his own, spending his afternoons post-training on the beach. He counted Springbok stars Damian Willemse and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu as not only Stormers team-mates, but close friends.‘The last four or five years at Irish were very settled. That was great, but maybe I also became a bit comfortable,’ Loader says. ‘That all changed very quickly. I had to pack up my life and start over. As hard as it was, it was a really valuable life experience.‘It was a pretty special lifestyle in Cape Town. I’d be on the beach in December and January and all my friends were stuck in the freezing UK! It was a crazy change.‘It was tough at first to adjust to a new place, new people and a new language. There was a lot of admin with moving clubs which I’d never done before, but mine also involved moving countries and to the other side of the world. It definitely helped my character. Loader in his London Irish days with former team-mates Ollie Hassell-Collins and Henry Arundell – all three are now vying for places on the wing in the England team Loader has set his sights on getting back into the England set-up – having played a non-cap friendly against the Barbarians in 2019’I look back on the experience so fondly because I bought into it so fully.’Now living in Cheltenham, Loader has joined a Gloucester side that lit up English rugby last season with an entertaining style of play only to just miss out on the play-offs.‘You’d struggle to find many better teams suited to a winger than Gloucester. The way we play is so expansive and exciting, but it is a lot of hard work,’ Loader adds.‘You have to cover a lot of mileage, but the pay-off is huge. A lot of wingers have shone here so I’m hoping to add my name to that list. Hopefully, the fans can expect some tries and some explosive rugby from me. I’m ready to get stuck in. I can’t wait to get going.’



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