Haskell relishing ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity as he joins Lions party
● England flanker joins up with squad just 24 hours after defeat for Wasps in Premiership final
James Haskell linked up with the British and Irish Lions yesterday, and admitted: “It is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
The England forward had no time to waste, reporting for Lions duty just 24 hours after Wasps suffered Aviva Premiership final agony at Twickenham as Exeter claimed an extra-time triumph to be crowned champions for the first time.
Wasps flanker Haskell gained his Lions call-up for New Zealand a week ago, summoned as replacement for an injured Billy Vunipola, and he was among the final batch of players reporting for duty following Saturday’s Premiership and Pro12 playoff finals.
“It will be a massive day,” Haskell said. “I have never been involved with those guys before.
“It is an unbelievable set-up, and I am back to being a newbie on something I have never done before. I want to go out there and enjoy it – it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
“If I get lucky enough to get on the field, then I am going to play and leave nothing out there. Going to New Zealand is a challenge, but it is an incredible opportunity.
“As a kid, I spent my time running around when I was at school pretending to be a Lion. It’s what every player wants to do, and I have managed to make it through.
“It is a completely different challenge [with the Lions], a different mindset. I have got to find my feet pretty quickly, I have got to slot in.
“If I get an opportunity to play out there, I will do what I always try to do, which is leave nothing out there.”
Haskell will certainly be battle-hardened for the tour – the Lions depart Heathrow today – ending his domestic season by playing the whole staminasapping 100 minutes in only the second Premiership final that required extra-time to settle it. In the end, Wasps were downed by a penalty inside the last three minutes from Exeter skipper Gareth Steenson, making the Chiefs England’s eighth different Premiership champions in its 20-year history.
For Wasps, it was their first defeat in a Premiership final, having won on four previous occasions, although the last of those was nine years ago.
“I knew it was going to be a huge physical challenge, which it was,” Haskell added. “I didn’t think I was going to have to play for 100 minutes, but we did.
“Credit to Exeter. They controlled the game better than us and looked after the ball better than us, and you can’t win finals if you don’t do that.
“They come in wave after wave, and you have just got to keep digging in. We didn’t look after the ball. How many times did we turn it over? How many times did we make mistakes and give the ball straight back to them?
“If you give a side like Exeter the opportunity, they will take it. You saw it last week against Saracens. [Saracens] switched off at one scrum, Henry Slade puts it 60 metres into the corner, and they drive the lineout and win.
“I am going to try and take the learning from it. What I can do better, how can I play better. I didn’t have my best game, I made mistakes. I tried to leave nothing out there, and I went for 100 minutes, and it wasn’t good enough.”