England v Argentina: Billy Twelvetrees – I was rubbish against Australia ...

“Well, my parents and girlfriend were there and they’ll always say you played

well because they’re your family, aren’t they? They’re always good at

boosting me up,” shrugged Twelvetrees. “Then one of my [three rugby-playing]

brothers just said to me, ‘Hey, don’t worry about it, you played fine’.

“To which I had to say, ‘Don’t be stupid, I was rubbish!’ and then even he had

to laugh: ‘Yes, you were s—! I could have done better!’”

There is a heartening positivity in the make-up of a player who swears, now

coach Stuart Lancaster has offered a public vote of confidence in him, that

he feels like an excited little kid again, desperate for Saturday to come

around so he can remind us against Argentina how good he really is.

It was really the first time since he made that spectacular international

try-scoring debut against Scotland in February that the reviews for

Twelvetrees in an England shirt had fallen a long way short of enthusiastic.

Up until then, it had just been Billy Twelvetrees, the exciting find with the

crazy name, the tree surgeon dad, the shaggy blond boyband looks and

versatile skill, a player who started off the year without a cap but, after

a meteoric rise, ended it having worn Lions scarlet.

“That’s the most disappointing thing, looking back with the coaches on

Saturday’s match. I realised this was the first blip, probably my first

performance where I feel I let myself and the boys down,” he admitted.

On Sunday night, he got back to the team’s Pennyhill Park base and watched the

replays of Matt Toomua, his Australian counterpart, running both through and

over him for the Wallabies score which put England on the back foot in the

first half. It made for painful viewing, the sort of trampling, one critic

suggested, that takes a lot of living down.

“But I’m quite happy if anyone wants to say anything against me because I’m as

equally harsh on myself,” reckoned Twelvetrees, reflecting on the

criticisms. When he had the debrief, though, it at least reminded him that,

actually, there was plenty in his performance, and his fledgling centre

partnership with Joel Tomkins, worth enthusing about too.

“Apart from that one tackle, the overall defensive shape of the back line in

phase play, we felt really comfortable and imposed ourselves well. Our

defensive line was good,” he noted.

“Attacking-wise, I think as a centre partnership Joel and I have to stay

patient. On a couple of occasions, we probably didn’t use it as effectively

as we could but it’s still a learning curve for us. I’m quietly confident if

we get the opportunity, we can execute well this weekend.

“Actually, overall as a team, we all know we weren’t as good as we could be

but the pleasing thing was winning while knowing we can easily up our

performance.”

As for the Toomua try, he was mad with himself but concluded it was a failure

of technique when he got caught off balance. “I think from a technical point

of view, I got a bit too low for the tackle.”

Oddly enough, Twelvetrees remembers Toomua featuring in another of his rare

lowlights reels in June when he had been whisked from England’s Argentina

tour, where he had just enjoyed scoring the second try of his Test career in

the victory over the Pumas in Salta, to join the injury-hit Lions.

Just off the plane, he was plunged straight into a defeat against the Brumbies

and ran into a couple of ‘welcome to Oz’ hits from Toomua. “I think he must

be my nemesis,” he smiled ruefully.

The thing that is most striking about Twelvetrees, who turns 25 next week, is

how laid back he seems about what he has just rationalised as just a bad day

at the office. “I’ve put it to bed. It’s just about moving on,” he said.

Wasn’t there pressure, though, to deliver on Saturday, with names like

Northampton’s Luther Burrell, the Premiership’s form centre, and Kyle

Eastmond being talked up as potential replacements?

“I don’t personally feel the pressure. I never have, wearing the England

shirt,” said Twelvetrees. “I’m quietly confident with myself. I am quite

laid back and I think you have to be in this situation. You have to be

ultra-professional but you have to chill out or it’s such a pressure cooker

environment, you can get caught up in it and not perform. Whether it’s for

Gloucester or England, you don’t get too high and you don’t get too low.

There’s a mellowness which is always good.”

Yet this mellow fellow is also accompanied by a genuine excitement about

putting matters right. “It’s always been the same, just like when I was

playing in mini-rugby for the under-nines,” said Twelvetrees. “As soon as

you do something wrong, you’re desperate to put it right straight away. I

love playing this game, I love playing it with a real intensity and

enjoyment. I don’t get discouraged. I’m really very itchy to get back out

there.”

Even his brother might then be able to tell him how well he has played and

actually mean it.

Get the latest behind-the-scenes news from Billy Twelvetrees and his

England teammates with O2 Inside Line, the weekly show from O2 – proud

sponsor of England Rugby – and the RFU, at www.O2InsideLine.com

Article source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/rugby-efficient-new-zealand-beat-combative-japan-tokyo-064620164--spt.html

England v Argentina: Billy Twelvetrees – I was rubbish against Australia ...