Proud dad Attwood is raring to go
NEW dad Dave Attwood starts today’s clash with the All Blacks ready to be more responsible off the field but more reckless on it.
Whatever happens at Twickenham, the 27-year- old Bath lock has already had the most momentous week of his life after fiancee Bridget gave birth to the couple’s first child, Jessica, on Tuesday night, just hours after he was named in the starting line-up to face the world champions.
If baby Jessica had delayed her arrival until later this week there was every chance Attwood, who has won 10 of his 12 caps from the bench, would have missed his chance to stake a World Cup claim — four years after a nine-week stamping ban cost him a place in Martin Johnson’s squad.
‘Emotionally I’ve been fighting on two very big battlefields,’ Attwood said. ‘One, being supportive of my fiancee and doing everything I can to help. First child is once-in-a-lifetime isn’t it? You will never get to re-do that.
‘And then, obviously, the game this weekend holds particular significance for me. My first cap was against New Zealand and I’ve come back four years on, after some trials and tribulations and time off the radar. This game is incredibly important to me.
‘Obviously with the next 12 months shaping up as they are, then this is the time to stand up and be counted. I can’t stress how high a price I have put on this game.’
Attwood’s outstanding start to the season for Bath, after shedding almost nine kilos over the past year, has seen the former England schoolboy discus champion add mobility to his game without losing power.
Having followed instructions from England’s coaching team on tour in Argentina last year, become a dad for the first time and apparently put his disciplinary issues behind him, the 6ft 7in lock is ready to inflict some pain on his opponents today.
‘Coming back from Argentina I decided I wanted to be the most powerful, destructive player I could be,’ Attwood said. ‘To be more than a substitute I had to make a significant change and one of those was to lose weight. I wanted anyone that came into my area, or anyone’s area that I went into, to come off second best.
‘I spent a lot of time doing heavy work in the gym, set-piece proficiency, becoming one of the best scrummaging second- rows around, working the line- out, setting up mauls; real strengths of mine.
‘I wanted to get moving round the field more. And perhaps a bit more back to when I used to carry the ball with a little less consideration, perhaps to be a little bit more exciting and more reckless.’