Uren making waves in Harry’s absence
FEISTY Bristol halfback Andy Uren aims to keep proving why clubmate Harry Randall is not the only show in town when it comes to future England No.9 selections.
While Randall’s Six Nations call-up drew headlines, only for the livewire pivot to be denied the chance of a first cap by injury, Uren has been at the forefront of Bristol’s surge for honours after a series of impressive displays.
Last week’s match-winning effort at Northampton, where Uren’s sumptuous monster pass off the left hand created Luke Morahan’s equalising try before he sped over himself to clinch maximum points in a 28-21 win, typified the contributions of a committed local boy.
Uren, 25, who hails from Hallen, now has grand designs on an England place and has every chance of achieving his dream as Bristol set their sights on winning a ‘double’.
Uren told The Rugby Paper: “Fair play to Harry, he got called-up and I was really happy for him because he was playing well at the time, but we’re pushing each other so hard that I don’t think I can be half-amillion miles away from England’s thinking either.
“He’s a bit younger than me but I’ve only just turned 25 and if we’re pushing each other that hard, you never know what might happen around the corner. He’s obviously been in the spotlight and everyone loves him off social media, but I’ve just got to keep ticking away.
“Pat Lam just tells us to play well for Bristol and if we’re top of the league, which we are, then the chances of you getting called-up are quite high. We’re winning games and have class players around us who’ve played for top international sides, so it’s a case of keep working hard, keep trying to be the best player you can and, hopefully, England will come knocking.”
As the battle to succeed Ben Youngs at Test level intensifies, with the likes of Dan Robson and Alex
Mitchell hammering away as well, the unsung Uren’s attention to detail has seen him emerge as one of the Premiership’s fastest and delivery-efficient scrumhalves.
After once again showcasing his talents at Saints, Uren explains: “As a scrumhalf your passing is one of the most fundamental skills but it’s probably the main area I work on now because you need a fast, accurate pass at Bristol with the way Pat Lam wants us to play.
“When I was younger and coming through the academy, I was lucky to work with Dwayne Peel when he was in his last couple of years of playing. He was a big help to me then and I did a lot of work with him, and now Sean Marsden, our skills coach, is class as well.
“I do a lot of extras after training with him and the rest of the nines here so I like to think all that hard work is paying off. While it’s never nice to see guys like Harry or Chris Cook injured, it’s meant I’ve played 80 minutes most games and I’ve enjoyed it.
“As a club we’re buzzing and are in a good place at the top of the Premiership by a few points with the European round of 16 to come, so I just want to push on.”
Lam makes no secret of his ambition to make Bristol top dogs both home and abroad and Uren is happy to restate the club’s burning desire to dethrone
Exeter. “We want to win the Premiership,” he says. “We got knocked out in the semis last year, but winning the Challenge Cup gave us a taste and we want to win more silverware, so every week we’re fully focussed on winning five points.
“We want to win the league first and foremost – finish top, get a home semi-final and by then, hopefully, there’ll be a crowd back and we can get into a final which might potentially be in front of a full stadium at Twickenham.
“Exeter are probably favourites to be in top two as well but we’ve already beaten them away and, hopefully, we’ll beat them again at home in a few weeks’ time, so we’re confident we can get the job done and make this a very special season for Bristol.”
With an away
Heineken Cup tie at Bordeaux looming next weekend, the confident schemer adds: “We beat Bordeaux in a great Challenge Cup semi-final last season and we’ve been good taking on French teams away, so we’ll go there 100 per cent looking to win. “Hopefully we might then get a crack at home to Racing 92 the following week. That would be pretty ideal and another great learning opportunity for the lads.” On his Test chances he says: “I’ll just try to keep improving and knocking on the door with England. I’ve got no excuses, I’ve got a great training ground to work in and a great team with great players, so it’s down to me.
“With ‘Rands’ around there’s great competition. He’ll be fit again soon so we’re looking forward to pushing each other on.”