20 QUESTIONS
EALING NO.8
Enjoying a good run of form recently? We targeted that last block of Championship fixtures starting with a narrow loss against London Irish but then we picked up four wins on the bounce. Three of them on the road too? We came back from Doncaster, Bedford and Rotherham with very good wins which made for a very good few weeks at the club. The Cup came at the right to give us the opportunity to refresh before the last four rounds. What’s been working so well? It’s hard to pinpoint but we’ve just been very hungry for success. We’ve got a very good squad and everyone is desperate to keep their shirt knowing any slip up could see you replaced. Looking good for the play-offs now? It’s the last year of it and we’re desperate to be involved in them. Can Ealing legally get promoted to the Premiership? I’m not sure to be honest but we’d like to win the competition regardless. We’ll do our best to win the play-offs and put ourselves in a position to potentially go up. What a turnaround after last season’s relegation scrap? I started the season at London Welsh so looking from the outside I think some teams didn’t think Ealing would improve that much from where they were last season. But the set-up here is great and that’s translating on the pitch. When did you move accros Kew Bridge? I joined Ealing midDecember and it’s been great so far. The boys have been very welcoming and I’ve settled in really quickly. How do you look back at the London Welsh saga? We had a strong squad and it was tough to see the club in that position. Thankfully a lot of the boys have managed to find a new club or gone a different route. Did you expect that outcome for Welsh? It was on the cards for a while once the investment didn’t materialise at the start of the season. Gareth Hawkins came in and tried to sort things out but he couldn’t turn things around. Did the players ever talked about it? We were aware of the situation so as much as we tried to focus on playing rugby it was always in the back of our mind. Did you think it was the end of the road for you too? I was lucky to have a few options but it certainly pushed me to think about the after rugby because you never know when it’s going to end. How did the move to Ealing come about? I spoke to Alex Codling quickly after the announcement at Welsh and Ealing have always attracted me to be honest so the decision was easy to make. What’s next for you? I’ll be at Ealing until the end of next season and I want to put my best foot forward to see if I can push on and return to one of the top leagues. Played in the Pro12 and Top14 already, didn’t you? Playing in Brive was awesome. It’s a very French town that breathe rugby in a similar way to Gloucester. It was hard to adapt at first but once I got past the language barrier it was great to speak to the supporters in town. Premiership next? I’d like to but, being realistic given I’m 29, it’d have to happen fairly quickly. I’m just happy to enjoy rugby at Ealing for now especially after what happened at London Welsh. I’m very privileged to be a professional rugby player so I’m going to embrace it while it lasts. What sort of career are you looking at once it’s over? I’ve got a new career path every couple of weeks but I’m hoping I can fall back on the business degree I already have. Wealth Management is something I’m looking at now. Favourite cheat meal? I live with Ryan Hodson who’s now at Quins so I’m going to drag him down with me and say we enjoy a Domino’s pizza on a Sunday. Three special dinner guests? Ricky Gervais, Kieran Read and Jessica Alba. Best and worst banter at Ealing? Best would have to be Mark Bright but worst is Lewis Thiede. Best and worst dressed? Lewis and his horrible jeans take worst while best goes to Alun Walker.