Exiles’ fall was never going to deter De Chaves
SEBASTIAN de Chaves has revealed why not even the offer of a new contract from mighty Leicester could prevent him from joining London Irish.
De Chaves, who at 6ft 6in and nearly 19st cuts a fearsome figure around a rugby pitch, is nothing if not his own man and says he had no hesitation in heading south – despite Irish’s headlong plunge into the Championship.
The Johannesburg-born lock, 25, told TRP: “I did have an option to stay at Leicester but I chose to come to Irish instead.
“Not everybody would have done that but it was the chance to be part of something exciting and I never had any second thoughts.
“Leicester’s a great club with a massive squad and sometimes it was tough to get game time, so this is something I can sink my teeth into.
“Going down to the Championship clearly wasn’t planned and was unfortunate, but I never really wavered in my decision to come here. I always had it my mind that I wanted to be a part of Irish’s future and I’m excited about helping to get the club back to the Premiership.”
De Chaves brings a wealth of top-flight experience to the party and his no-nonsense, physical style should lend itself to tier-two rugby.
He relishes working with coaches Nick Kennedy and George Skivington, two of the best former second row forwards in the business.
He said: “Skivs is a very good lineout technician so it’s been nice to work under him and pick his brains. Then Kendo throws in his bits of wisdom there, so you’ve got two accomplished former locks to learn a lot from.
“That’s been a real positive for me and we’re all looking to learn. Hopefully, our setpiece will be a strength and I like the physical aspect of the game as well.
“The Championship will be tough in different ways and we know we’ll have to be at our best every week. But if we get things right and improve, nothing can stop us.”