The Curious Case of Dan Cole

Dan Cole is only 26. That's the thing that struck me most when reading about his bulging disc, which will rule him out of England's upcoming match against Ireland. Partly because I imagine all props to be in their thirties at least, but mostly because he looks like your Grandad's older brother, I had assumed he was a little further on in years. Even by the standards of the front row, Cole looks "mature". And he's looked more or less the same for years now, which means he looked like that when he was 22 or 23. I wonder what he looked like as a teenager? I bet he never got asked for ID. Or maybe he never was a teenager. Perhaps there's a sort of Benjamin Button scenario happening to Dan, and there will come a time when he becomes too young and underdeveloped for the punishing life of a prop forward?