Growing up in Coventry, not so long ago, Asher Opoku-Fordjour would watch videos of Kobe Bryant on the eve of every rugby match; idolising the American basketball superstar who practised his shooting in the gym at Palisades High School until the sun came up.
![[The young prop is known as Ash-Beast by his team-mates at Sale Sharks where he has thrived]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/17/16/94218779-14295957-image-a-26_1737131979549.jpg)
‘I would get into bed and watch clips of him on YouTube,’ explains the 20-year-old, known as 'Ash Beast' to his Sale team-mates. ‘I’d watch clips of him talking about what he called the Mamba Mentality. The way he was just locked in. Everything in his life was based around being the best and how to be the best. It taught me that if you want to truly be the best, you have to be locked in.
![[He no longer needs to watch videos of Ellis Genge though after having joined him at England]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/17/16/94217811-14295957-image-a-3_1737130617446.jpg)
‘The night before a game I would watch videos of Kobe Bryant, then I’d watch videos of Ellis Genge, then I’d watch videos of rugby’s biggest hits. Stuff to get a feel for the game and give me something to replicate. I’d be in my bed at night thinking, “Yeah, I’m gonna try to do this”.’.
![[With his rise to the top of the game ongoing, the 20-year-old is becoming a household name]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/17/16/94218367-14295957-image-a-16_1737131804554.jpg)
He laughs. ‘Usually I didn’t do it. But I tried.’. These days, the young prop no longer needs to watch videos of Ellis Genge the night before a game. Now they are team-mates on the England beat and Opoku-Fordjour is quickly garnering enough moments for his own YouTube highlights reel.
![[Despite putting more focus on scrummaging than sprint times Opoku-Fordjour is still rapid]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/17/16/94218357-14295957-image-a-15_1737131798202.jpg)
One of rugby’s laidback characters, he reclines into a leather armchair at Sale’s training ground and offers a potted family history. Asher Opoku-Fordjour idolised Kobe Bryant as a youth and watched clips of him before games. The young prop is known as Ash-Beast by his team-mates at Sale Sharks where he has thrived.
![[Earlier this week, Opoku-Fordjour was named in Steve Borthwick's Six Nations squad for 2025]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/17/16/94218745-14295957-image-m-19_1737131936550.jpg)
