London Irish veteran pumped for another crack in top flight
VETERAN London Irish fly-half Stephen Myler insists age will prove no barrier to him enjoying another productive stint in topflight rugby.
After more than a decade at Northampton, the 34year-old schemer took a step back this season to spearhead the Exiles’ promotion drive.
But far from being in decline, Myler told The
Rugby Paper: “I feel like I’ve had a second lease of life, just with it being a fresh start, being out of my comfort zone and being able to reassess what I want from the rest of my career.
“It’s been a big change for me after nearly 12 years at Saints, which is pretty uncommon in the modern game for people to stay around so long.
“But I’m enjoying my rugby and physically I’m feeling good. I don’t feel like an old man who’s clinging on and the club have looked after me well, so I certainly feel like I’ve got at least a couple of good years in me.
“You see people like Richard Wigglesworth and George Smith who are playing beyond 35 now and if you’re in a position where you’ve got so much experience to call upon and can help develop younger players, why not carry on?
“I certainly feel that I have a purpose to my rugby and it’s not just something I want to play for a year and then ride off having had enough. I want to help take this club back to the Premiership and then help them stay up.”
With ever-present talk of ring-fencing, Irish cannot afford another year outside the Premiership.
However, defeat at Jersey in their last league outing in November proved promotion was no sure thing and Myler shuns suggestions of complacency. He said: “Jersey pipped us right at the end and deserved their win so we’re under no illusions about having any divine right to win promotion or turn up at places and win by 50 points – it’s just not going to be like that. “There are good players in the Championship and that’s showed through some of the tight games we’ve had, but the season is a long one and we’re working on the areas we came unstuck in to ensure we’re much better.” The cost of non-promotion for Irish hardly bears thinking about, as aside from a further loss of central funding, having a relegated Premiership big gun in next season’s Championship would make the route back so much harder.
“You can’t think like that as a player,” says Myler. “Obviously, those chats about ring-fencing are going on, but we’re just focussing on the job.
“We’ve got a long-term goal in mind but for now we’re just trying to improve and I feel we’re taking steps to be a better team.
“We’re getting clear messages from our coaches and playing in the position I do means I have a large say in how the team functions.
“We’ve got a good blend of senior and younger guys and I certainly believe this club is heading in the right direction now.”