Years from now, Noah Caluori will likely look back on his remarkable debut season with nostalgia, particularly recalling the day he received a crate of beer to celebrate his first appearance for Ampthill. This small gesture marked the beginning of a journey that has seen the young player achieve extraordinary progress since leaving school.

In his inaugural year, the teenager has packed in numerous accomplishments. He currently leads the PREM try-scoring charts by a margin of seven for Saracens and has earned a call-up to the England squad. Yet, the memories of his loan games at Dillingham Park remain just as cherished.

“It feels like my second home,” the 19-year-old shared, reflecting on his time with Ampthill, where his teammates were a diverse group that included teachers, engineers, a car salesman, and even the brother of England women’s star Ellie Kildunne.

This season, Caluori managed to score five tries in just two outings for Ampthill during his brief stints with the club, both surrounding his selection by England coach Steve Borthwick. Saracens’ director of rugby, Mark McCall, frequently visits the second-tier club, describing it as a “godsend” for nurturing young talent.

“When Noah goes to Ampthill, he’s accompanied by at least seven or eight other academy players,” McCall noted. “They are all friends, which makes the experience enjoyable for them. We even have an academy coach, James Tirrell, who works with Ampthill, creating a strong connection.”

Noah Caluori is the runaway leader on the PREM Rugby tries leaderboard with 17 – seven clear of Bristol’s Kalaveti Ravouvou and Northampton’s Tommy Freeman in joint-second 

But despite his flying form in the PREM, Caluori is still down at Ampthill regularly on mini-loans from Saracens, learning his trade in the Championship

The 19-year-old was presented with a crate of beer after his debut for the second-tier club last October

McCall is particularly impressed by Caluori’s dedication. “Noah fully commits to the experience. Our expectations for him in a Saracens jersey are no different from those at Ampthill. He attends training sessions on Tuesday or Thursday nights, and the team has been greatly impressed by his enthusiasm and engagement.”

Caluori has been joined by the likes of fellow Saracens Angus Hall, Jack Bracken and Tobias Elliott. His biggest challenge in his first year of professionalism has been to work on his defensive positioning, adapting to the growing demands of the men’s game.

‘I go into Sarries when they’re selecting the team on Monday and then I say, “Right, who can go on loan?”’ said Tirrell. ‘It’s a bit of a juggling act. I’m picking up the phone like I’m a broker.

‘A couple of weeks ago, Noah wanted to play in the game against Northampton at Tottenham. When he realised he wasn’t going to play, he didn’t sulk. I told him he had an opportunity to play at Ampthill and he said, “Right, let’s get on it”.

‘The best thing for these youngsters is game time. I took him off with 15 minutes to go because I thought there was potential he could play against Bath the following week. He looked at me to say, “Why are you taking me off?”.

‘If Mark’s not able to come down in person then the games are filmed and he watches them. He’s already spoken to me by the Saturday night asking: “How did so and so play?”

‘Everyone can see Noah’s X factor. He’s not a one-dimensional player. His ball-carrying is unreal, his tackle is getting better, his defensive reading is getting better. He scored an intercept against Sale on Sunday because he’s put a lot of work in with Adam Powell around his positioning in defence. He’s open to feedback and he wants to get better.’

Ampthill head coach Dave Ward described Caluori as ‘exemplary’. The club share many of their attacking systems with Saracens, including their attacking kicking model. 

Caluori went from training with second-tier Ampthill to scoring five tries against Sale for the second time this season last weekend

Caluori’s astonishing leap gives him a unique dual threat of speed and aerial ability

‘Noah turns those contestable kicks from a 50-50 to a 90-10,’ Ward said. ‘We might do a few more contestable restarts when we have Noah to use his super-strengths. He’s probably coming in and taking someone’s spot in the team but it goes both ways. Our Ampthill players have had opportunities to go and play with Saracens. We’ve now got Sione Vaenuku going to Saracens, allowing him to get into a full-time programme.

‘If you look at the England side, almost everyone bar Marcus Smith has played in the Championship at some point. Premiership clubs have big squads and the players need to play rugby somewhere.

‘Exeter go to Cornish Pirates, Leicester go to Nottingham, Northampton go to Bedford, Harlequins go to London Scottish and Sale have a good relationship with Caldy. Look at the Bath University team that won the BUCS trophy this week, five or six of those players were playing in the Prem Cup for Bath. Kepu Tuipulotu has played for the Bath uni team this season.’

After his five-try demolition of Sale on Sunday, Ward joked to Caluori that he should come and play in the Championship more often. Ampthill are on track to make the play-offs but Caluori is unlikely to be given more chances to lace up his boots at Dillingham Park.

‘I want to start every week for Sarries, play my best rugby and hopefully get a call-up to the summer tour for England,’ said the youngster.