Joel Awanka S. Kpoku (born 22 June 1999) is an English-born Congolese

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

for

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

in the French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

Kpoku began playing rugby at school and joined

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

side

London Skolars The London Skolars are a professional rugby league club based at the New River Stadium, Wood Green, Haringey in north London. They were founded in 1995 and have been professional since 2003, operating in the Betfred League 1. They also run an ...

at 12 years old. He then joined Saracens Amateur RFC in 2013 before being selected to join

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

academy at under-17s. Joel impressed Saracens whilst studying at

Oaklands College Oaklands College is a further education college in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. It was established in 1991 when further education was reorganised. The college has campuses in St Albans and Welwyn Garden City, with a further provision in Boreh ...

as a member of the Oaklands Wolves Rugby Academy, In 2016 Kpoku toured South Africa with Saracens Amateurs U17 team. He was called up for full training in August 2018 after impressing in the 2018 World Rugby Under 20 Championship. In February 2019 he was short listed for the

Premiership Rugby Cup The Premiership Rugby Cup is an English rugby union knockout cup competition for teams in Premiership Rugby. It was created in 2018 to replace the Anglo-Welsh Cup after the withdrawal of the Welsh regions. History The Premiership Rugby Cup was ...

Breakthrough Player Award. He committed his immediate future to Saracens in 2020 in a two-year deal that would see him promoted from the senior academy to the first team. However, on 19 November 2021, Kpoku left Saracens with immediate effect to move to France to join

in the

from the 2021-22 season. Kpoku is said to have congolese heritage.

References

1999 births Living people English rugby union players Rugby union locks Rugby union players from London Borough of Newham Saracens F.C. players English expatriate rugby union players English expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate rugby union players in France Lyon OU Rugby players {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub