Saxons’ full-back Nick Abendanon is the favourite of many to eventually inherit the number 15 shirt for England. He spoke to www.rucked.com…
How’s life with the Saxons?
Not too bad, it’s pretty much a completely changed team from last week, so we’ve had to start from scratch and get to know everyone again. But then with Gloucester, Wasps and Leicester playing this weekend, we knew that would be the case.
Happy with how things went last week?
Yeah, considering we’d only been together for a week. Our first objective was to get the win, which we got. The first half was pretty average, but then the boys put a lot more structure into the second half.
It looked like a pretty exciting side…
Definitely, there were a lot of younger players in the team and not as many experienced guys as there had been in the past. In everyone’s view we had a strong side but we had to play well to beat the Irish.
Anyone stand out?
Obviously Shane Geraghty played pretty well, that’s why he’s been called up to the England squad for Italy. Jordan Crane had a pretty good game too and Dylan Hartley and David Wilson came off the bench and did well for us too.
Think Shane can push for a starting place with England?
Definitely, I’ve played with Shane since the England under-18s and so I’ve got to know how he plays, how he controls the game. Even though there’s a lot of competition with England at the moment, I think if he pushes hard he can get in – especially as he can play at 12 too.
Are you disappointed not to be involved in the Six Nations?
You’re always disappointed when you don’t get picked but you’ve got to deal with these setbacks. They [Balshaw and Tait] have obviously played more games than me for England and Tait is a very exciting player. But if I work hard, tighten up my game a bit – make less defensive errors – then hopefully I’ll get noticed.
Did you find yourself watching Balshaw rather than England?
Yup, definitely, you always look to see how the person in your position is playing more than how the team as a whole is performing – you tend to do that when third choice.
And what did you think?
He had a pretty good game until the last ten minutes when things dropped off and he made one mistake. Other than that he did pretty well.
He was criticised quite a bit, did you think you might get your chance?
I don’t know, I don’t think after one game Brian was ever going to completely change things… maybe it was in the back of my mind. But I didn’t think he had a bad game so he wouldn’t get picked again.
What’s it like being a Saxon, do you feel like an England player?
You obviously feel part of the England set-up, but there’s also the feeling that you’re a second team so there’s not as much pressure on us to perform. It means we can have a good crack at the opposition and fun down at camps. We get to meet players we only normally play against and make new friends. Ultimately though it’s at the back of your mind that you want to get into the first team.
Has it improved your game being a Saxon?
Having a change from playing for your club always means you learn different things, especially as you have different coaches, being with the Saxons has definitely helped my game.
What’s the level of rugby like?
I’d probably say it’s about the same as Premiership games – there’s nothing really much quicker than an all-Premiership game. So in that respect there’s not much of a change at all.
Happy with the side you’ve got out this week? Guessing it’s not ideal to have so many changes…
Ideally we’d like to keep the same side for two weeks because we’d got to know each other a bit and what each player tended to do. It also means you link together better so it doesn’t take so long for you to get into a game as it did last week. But we’ve got new faces and we have to change and adapt and so we’re working hard to get things right.
Who stands out in the current line-up?
[Phil] Dowson, who’s been named as captain is a decent player and then there’s Ben Woods [also from Newcastle] who I think is a very good player at seven. In the backline, Tom Biggs on the wing, who hasn’t had much chance at Leeds as they’ve been struggling, he’s good. And obviously we’ve got Delon Armitage as well – he’s playing at 13 where I haven’t seen him play before, but he’s got a lot of pace and awareness so hopefully he can create us a bit of space on the outside.
Realistically, do you think you’ll get a chance in this year’s Six Nations?
If something happens to this Six Nations’ side then maybe, but it’s probably a bit too late for me now. Being in the main squad was one of my goals but I’ve got to deal with that. Now I’ve just got to concentrate on playing well for the Saxons this weekend, then maybe I’ll get noticed and get my name put in hat for the summer tour.
How do you think you’re playing at the moment?
I think I can play a bit better. I’m not saying I’m playing badly because I don’t think I am. The second season is always harder than the first because players know a bit more about you so there isn’t as much space. I’m playing pretty good but, by my own standards, I can play a bit better.
What can you improve on?
Obviously I’m working a lot on the high ball, that’s a pretty big part of the game of game. Also, my defence, I don’t think my defence is bad but maybe I’m missing a few one-on-one tackles that I should be getting.
Know much about Italy?
They played against Scotland last week and lost but Scotland had a good side out, so don’t really know.
You’re playing in Sicily though…
You do get to go places that are pretty awesome and I’ve never been to Sicily.
Are you a fan of mafia films?
I am actually, I’m really into the Godfather and Sopranos and stuff so it’ll interesting to see what it’s all about.
Not a bad life as pro then?
I think travelling around is one of the best bits. You also get to train with your mates, play the sport you love, see great places – and you have the added bonus of getting paid to do it. You can’t complain really…
England A team to face Italy A
15. Nick Abendanon (Bath Rugby), 14. John Rudd (Newcastle Falcons), 13. Delon Armitage (London Irish), 12. Alex Crockett (Bath Rugby), 11. Tom Biggs (Leeds Carnegie), 10. Adrian Jarvis (Harlequins), 9. Lee Dickson (Newcastle Falcons); 1. Alex Clarke (Bristol Rugby), 2. David Paice (London Irish), 3. Jason Hobson (Bristol Rugby), 4. Peter Short (Bath Rugby), 5. Nick Kennedy (London Irish), 6. Phil Dowson (Newcastle Falcons, captain), 7. Ben Woods (Newcastle Falcons), 8. Tom Guest (Harlequins)
Reps. 16. Andrew Long (Newcastle Falcons), 17. David Wilson (Newcastle Falcons), 18. Andrew Springgay (Bayonne), 19. Will Skinner (Harlequins), 20. Danny Care (Harlequins), 21. Mike Brown (Harlequins), 22. Topsy Ojo (London Irish)