James Haskell, rugby"s smiling streetfighter, determined to drive Wasps back ...

This profound respect for the eternal verities of the game, for the need for

toughness and kinship on the field, is also why Haskell has forced his way

back into the England

reckoning. It would be easy to brand Haskell as an image-conscious

individual but it would be far from the truth. He cares not about the

superficiality of his profile but about the regard in which he is held for

his rugby.

Haskell won his 51st cap in the first Test against New

Zealand in Auckland earlier this summer. Stuart Lancaster, the head

coach, often asks new caps to express their feelings about representing

England. He asked Haskell to perform the ritual on the eve of the Eden Park

match – and Haskell broke down as he articulated his feelings.

“Yes, I did blub and choke up with it all,” Haskell said. “It means as much to

me now as it ever did, perhaps more. I was at the England under-21 training

session in Northampton all those years ago when a scrum collapsed and Matt

Hampson ended up paralysed [in 2005]. You have got to make the most of every

opportunity. That is what it comes down to.

“That is how I viewed the tour to New Zealand. I knew Tom Wood would probably

come back for the second Test after arriving late for the tour with all the

other Northampton and Saracens players so I had to give it my best shot.

That is what everyone has to do, all the time. That is what I have to do at

Wasps. I can still be my loud self but I have got to deliver out where it

matters, in the gym, on the field, and set those standards for everyone

else.”

Wasps appear in better shape than they have for a few years. The injection of

cash has brought security and a sense of possibility. There have new

arrivals in Italian prop Lorenzo Cittadini, the Wales lock Bradley Davies,

the fly-half Ruaridh Jackson from Scotland and Sailosi Tagicakibau, the

London Irish wing. There is greater depth and a more upbeat mood. Of course,

positivity at this stage of the season is an easy posture to adopt.

Even though Wasps finished their last league campaign in seventh, they did

finish off in style with a double-header victory against Stade Français to

earn a treasured spot in the newly constituted European Rugby Champions Cup.

Few expected them to trump the lavishly bankrolled Parisian outfit but they

did, through guts and belief.

Haskell is well aware of the significance of that result. “That was our

biggest game in five or six years, a chance to show what we are about. That

is what we have to carry in to this season. We have to believe in each other

and back each other.

“We’ve got Saracens and Northampton in the opening fortnight, Leinster and

Harlequins in the first two rounds of Europe. It is brutal and we have to be

ready for that.”

Haskell has no intention of dampening down his natural ebullience. “You would

soon get found out as a phoney. Every time I go quiet or serious, people

worry that there’s a problem. So, no, it will be me – passionate about what

I do and looking to deliver. Performance is all that counts.”

Article source: http://www.fanatix.com/news/south-africa-v-italy-rugby-union-match-preview-and-live-streaming/122289/

James Haskell, rugby"s smiling streetfighter, determined to drive Wasps back ...