Matthews looking for a new start at Wasps
FRUSTRATED second row Charlie Matthews says the lure of working with Dai Young played a major part in his decision to join Wasps after admitting life had gone stale for him at Harlequins.
Matthews, 27 this Tuesday, will team-up with England lock Joe Launchbury as Wasps aim to turn potential into silverware – a prospect that excites the 6ft 8ins (2.03m) enforcer after his 12-year stint at the Stoop ended in disappointment amid poor results and coaching casualties. Matthews, right, told
The Rugby Paper: “It was a difficult last season at Harlequins and it’s been a disappointing few years for the club since winning the LV= Cup back in 2013.
“It’s been a bit of a struggle to be honest and that was definitely a big part of my decision to come here.
“If we’d been European champions it would have been quite difficult to leave my home club where I’d been since I was 15, but I just felt it was the right time for a change.”
What went wrong at Quins? “How long have you got?” replies Matthews. “It’s not a twominute answer and I wouldn’t like to speculate. It’s been tough for guys like John Kingston (director of rugby) and Collin Osborne (skills coach) who’ve borne the brunt of it, but I’m just looking forward now.”
While Harlequins look to rebuild under Paul Gustard, Matthews is aiming to improve as a player under Young and newly appointed Wasps’ forwards coach Andy Titterrell.
Matthews explained: “I’d been speaking to a few people but Wasps was always at the top of my list.
“I love the brand of rugby they play and you’ve only got to see the stadium to know what an awesome place that is to play in big games when it’s packed.
“Dai Young was a massive influence in my decision as well. I’d heard great things from people about how good a leader he is and I wanted to see what that was all about.
“A good friend of mine, Matt Everard, is coaching at Wasps now and he always had good things to say about Dai, even when he wasn’t getting much game time as a player.
“If you’re hearing that from someone who’s not getting picked, that’s a pretty big thing in my book.” Matthews added: “Results in recent seasons and the way Wasps play speak for themselves and as well as linking up with Joe Launchbury, I’ve heard good things about Andy Titterrell from guys who’ve worked with him at different clubs and from the Saxons tour of South Africa. “I’m just looking forward to working with guys with fresh ideas and, from what I’ve seen of the culture here so far, everyone is really positive. “A key focus from speaking to Dai and Andy is getting our forwards up to scratch, rather than relying on our glitzy backs to win games.”
Having appeared twice for the England Saxons in 2014, Matthews has so far failed to translate that early promise on to the senior Test stage.
However, he says: “I’ve no regrets. I played for the Saxons and if you’d told me at school I was going to do that and make over 160 appearances for Quins, I’d have bitten your hand off.
“Even playing in the Premiership has been amazing and anything that happens now is a bonus.
“I’m just concentrating on Wasps and if I can play another 100-odd Premiership games here, I’ll feel pretty proud about it.”