As forwards, we were superbly coached by John Mitchell, he was probably the best forwards coach I ever had. We’d have done anything for him, even run through brick walls.
I remember one training session in New Zealand and there was this old scrummaging/maul machine that was made up of old scaffolding poles with about an inch of padding on them. We all tentatively tried to find a slot to push it across the field and Mitch went mental. ‘You bunch of soft, English w*****, sort your lives out!’ he screamed. ‘This is how I want it done.’ He smashed into it, you could hear bone on metal, and he pushed it six-foot by himself. Then it was our turn to do it properly. You should have seen the bruises on us afterward. He was that kind of bloke: he wouldn’t ask you to do anything that he wouldn’t do himself.
I was chuffed to bits to get my three caps and to get a letter from Roger Uttley when we got back home. His words were, ‘you’ve had a fantastic tour and we hope to see more of you in the future’. Unfortunately, I never heard from Clive Woodward again. Martin Johnson was the future, rightly so, and I wasn’t. He was captain of a fashionable club and I wasn’t. It is what it is.
Gloucester was everything to me. I was born and bred there and lived in the city before moving down to Devon when I joined the Chiefs, aged 31.
Denne historien er fra September 06, 2020-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Denne historien er fra September 06, 2020-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Unbeaten Lymm put the Tykes on a leash
LYMM maintained their unbeaten start to the campaign, taking the major scalp of Leeds Tykes and ending the visitors' unblemished start.
Dramatic late win boosts leaders
A LAST-minute converted try saw Tonbridge Juddians snatch victory from the jaws of defeat at Barnes.
England need to be more consistent
I WAS at last week's game against the All Blacks and as much as I enjoyed my first visit to the stadium since the Six Nations, I couldn't help noticing a different attitude of those in control of the stadium's notification system which puts out messages to the crowd.
Cuthbert: Wales have to deliver
ALEX Cuthbert says the pressure on Wales is huge ahead of their opening Autumn Nations Series game against Fiji today.
Anyanwu heads the list of star attractions
TOP 14 transfer speculation is always thoroughly entertaining, and this season has so far been no exception.
Goldthorp can challenge Kildunne for No.15 spot
LOUGHBOROUGH Lightning head coach Nathan Smith is backing Fran Goldthorp to compete with Ellie Kildunne, right, for England's No.15 jersey.
Four-try David calls the shots for Bears
MILLIE David helped Bristol blow Leicester away after scoring four of their 10 tries at Welford Road.
Scott-Young keen to follow his father
TYPICAL of most Australians, Scott-Young Angus has fairly sunny disposition and the loose forward is confident that Saints can soon start to turn things around on the road.
When value for money is not part of the deal
ENGLAND'S bench strategy against New Zealand - goodbye \"bomb squad\", hello \"squib squad\"-has been investigated, psychoanalysed, convicted on all charges and mercilessly sentenced by the entire rugby world and its maiden aunt, so there is no earthly point in returning to the scene of the crime.
'I want to prove my worth to Bath'
OUT-OF-FAVOUR winger RuBath aridh McConnochie is hoping to use the Premiership Cup to lay down a challenge to Johann van Graan and make his selection claims impossible to ignore.
