At 33, I’m desperate to set the World to rights
ROBSHAW DREAMS OF MAKING AMENDS FOR 2015 CUP DISASTER ON HOME SOIL
THE clock is ticking for Chris Robshaw and the reminders are all around. Soon he will turn 33, reach 300 appearances for his club and complete a dozen years in English rugby’s top flight. The anniversary of his most recent England cap will come into view, followed soon after by the first World Cup since the side he captained came so spectacularly to grief. Robshaw has much he still wants to achieve, but not much time left in which to do it. So when Harlequins boss Paul Gustard this week challenged his side to “dare to be great” and stop a potentially ruinous losing run, the warrior flanker did not need to be asked twice.
“I’m hungrier now than I was when I was 21,” he said. “But time is no longer my friend. At 21 you take things for granted. You play in a semi-final but don’t win – no worries, there’ll be another one.
“You get a bit older and you realise you don’t have as many opportunities as you would like any more. It makes you more hungry. I’m pushing the boundaries in training, pushing my body.
“My ambition is to make Quins successful again, but also to make that World Cup squad.
“Having missed the majority of the season,
I’m dying to get back in and fighting my hardest.
“Righting the wrongs of 2015 is still my mentality. That World Cup was tough for me, a dark time in my life. It’s not a scar that will ever leave me. It’s one I’ll always wear.” As recently as last month Robshaw was all smiles. Finally over knee surgery, he was recalled to England’s squad.
The same week Quins looked certainties to reach the play-offs for the first time in five years. The Londoners then lost four in a row. Make it five today at runaway leaders Exeter and they could well be out of the top four.
Behind Robshaw a slogan flashes up on a screen at the club’s training HQ. “Five games to make history,” it reads. “If not us, who? If not now, when? Dare to be great!”
That is Gustard all over. Since he took charge last summer, Quins have gone from ragtag bunch to a force to be taken seriously. But consistency remains their Achilles heel. “Mentally you all have to be on it every single day, every single week, you can’t pick and choose,” said Robshaw.
“I’ve seen a relegation and a title triumph here and once you’ve scaled the mountain you realise how hard you’ve got to work to stay there. That’s why I’ve so much respect for the likes of Saracens and Exeter.”
Quins’ fate does not depend on winning in Devon. But they must replicate the fight they showed in Clermont last week. Quins rallied from 32-8 down and were pushing for victory, just five points behind, when the final whistle went. NEWCASTLE’S relegation woes deepened despite a spirited fightback against NORTHAMPTON. Wing Tom Collins scored a first-half hat-trick as Saints raced into a 24-3 lead.
Bottom club Falcons then reduced the deficit to 24-17, before a last-minute try sealed a 31-17 win for Saints.
In the night’s other game, SALE edged BATH 6-3.