QUESTIONS

WORCESTER LOOSEHEAD

How’s pre-season going? Very well. We’ve kicked things off in terms of warm-up games and everything is shaping up nicely for the start of the season in two weeks. Who’s your first game against? It’ll be a trip to Newcastle on the first Friday of the season. It’s always a good game at Kingston Park on an artificial pitch and we’ll be accustomed to having one at Sixways. How are you settling in at the Warriors? Everyone has been very welcoming so it’s been an easy transition for me. I felt at home since the day I reported for pre-season at the start of July. Was it tough to leave Northampton? It was because I had a great time at this club. But saying that, it was also an easy decision to make since I was after more game time. Did you have other options? We talked about extending my contract at Northampton but Worcester came into the frame and I decided to leave as I thought my career was stalling a little bit at Franklin’s Gardens. Excited to play for Gary Gold? He drives really high standards and everyone is buying into it. Everyone wants to play for him which should help us to well this season. He loves the basics of the game doesn’t he? That’s what makes you win games so he’s right to focus on them. Having a strong set piece, play in the right part of the field and go forward is crucial to get the result we want so we’re working hard on those. Have you talked about targets yet? We just want to perform well. Given the squad and the talent that we’ve got here, we’ve got to do it justice and do well. Own expectations for the season? Play as well as I can and contribute to what the team is trying to achieve. I just want to play as much as I can and be involved with the first team week in week out. How hard was it to compete against your brother Alex at Northampton? It was weird dynamic in the sense that I needed him to get injured to get a chance but as my brother I wanted him to do well. Something had to give then? I was becoming more and more frustrated as I couldn’t get a decent run of games so I had to look for somewhere else to step out of his shadow. It was time for me to move on and make a name for myself. Did you always play in the same position? I always played at loosehead but Alex grew up playing in the back row. He moved to the front row when I was 15. It was one of the best decision he made for his career unfortunately for me. Have you ever square up against him? No but we packed down next to each other a couple of times for the Wanderers. We picked up a couple of injuries so he shifted to hooker. That was pretty nice. What will you take from your time in Northampton? It has to be the 2014 season when we won both the Premiership and the Challenge Cup. I ended up playing six seasons there straight out of school so I’ll always have fond memories about Saints. If not rugby, what would you be doing? Truth be told I don’t really know but I’m quite into my music. It’s something I enjoy doing in my down time so that’d be a good alternative career for me. Do you play an instrument? Yes, I play the guitar. Favourite cheat meal? I try to be as good as I can but I’m a prop after all so I tend to reward myself at the end of a tough week of training. A ham and pineapple pizza would have to be my favourite. Three dinner guests? Gordon Ramsay, the actor Jack Black and Winston Churchill. Best and worst banter at Worcester? Nick Schonert has a similar sense of humour to mine so we get on well. My old mate from Northampton Sam Olver is not too great when it comes to chat however. Best and worst dressed? To be fair to Sam he looks quite sharp unlike Simon Kerrod who has no dress sense.