LIFE IN RUGBY

THE FORMER NORTHAMPTON BACK ROW NOW DoR AT STOWE SCHOOL

IWAS invited to train with Northampton’s U19s in my final year of sixth form and that turned out to be the start of a 19year association with the club, first as a player and then as an academy coach. I played 250 first team games and got a testimonial in my last year in 2006. So I have lots of special memories of Franklin’s Gardens.

Funnily enough, I was a Wasps supporter as a lad. I used to like watching Rob Andrew and people like that on TV. I didn’t really have much of an emotional connection with Northampton until my dad, who was a season ticket holder, took me to a few games and introduced me to the youth team coach, Alan Hughes.

Ironically, Alan used to do the job I’m doing now at Stowe School and is still there now as a housemaster.

We had a great team at Saints and I played under two special leaders in Tim Rodber and Pat Lam. Tim was from the Army and had an autocratic style and I really benefitted from playing alongside him and Budge Pountney in the back row.

Pat came in during the late 90s and he was a completely different character. He really pushed the family values on and off the pitch. Pat and I kind of switched between six and eight and I think I made an equal number of appearances in both positions. Even when another quality player in Andrew Blowers came in, I wanted to stay and prove I was worth my place.

As well as having two very good captains, I was very lucky to be coached by some outstanding people. Ian McGeechan was there when I arrived and he was like a father figure to us young lads. The five years under him was an unbelievable experience. When he left in 2002 we got Wayne Smith the All Blacks coach. Not a bad replacement!

In those days we were the bridesmaids but never the bride, domestically at least. I think we got to two consecutive Premiership finals and lost in two Cup finals. We did win the Middlesex Sevens though one year, and that was a highlight. The 2000 Heineken Cup win was great for the club but tough for me on a personal level. I was playing well the year before but dislocated my shoulder playing against Richmond near the end of the season and it took me the best part of a year to get back fit.

I returned to action about three days before the final, playing away at Saracens on the Tuesday in what was a big game because we were still not certain of qualifying for Europe. I played really well in that and then got manof-the-match in the next game against Newcastle, so I was confident of being in the team for Twickenham. But my jaw didn’t feel right afterwards so I went to A&E and it turned out I’d played most of the match with it shattered!

Travelling down to Twickenham on the bus with the players’ wives and the other injured lads was tough but it was still great to be able to take to the pitch after an incredibly tense 9-8 win over Munster and be a part of the proudest moment in the club’s history.

Some of the lads took themselves off to Bedford towards the end of their careers but I just thought it was time to call it a day. I’d had quite a few operations and the body had taken a bit of a battering. When the academy job at Saints came up, I thought this is the job for me. I thoroughly enjoyed my four years there. It gives me immense pride when I see the Saints team sheet and see people I helped bring through, like Mikey Haywood, Alex Waller and Courtney Lawes.

Bringing through the next generation of players in a friendly, family-style environment is what we are all about at Stowe. Taju Atta and Kristian Kay left last year and are now with Wasps and Scotland U19s respectively.