ONE2ONE - Andrew Sheridan

Back with us after eight weeks with England, Andrew impressed against Bath and had an ‘interesting’ time at Leicester. John Everton is talking rugby with Andrew Sheridan

John You came back to club action against Bath at Edgeley Park. What’s the ‘front row’ report?

Andrew There were a lot of scrums in the game, weren’t there? There weren’t too many re-sets, so it was a good contest. We worked hard as an eight, but we knew we’d have to because they had a pretty heavy, able scrum themselves.

John               In the opposition was a Sale ‘old boy’ Duncan Bell.

Andrew          He’s a strong, heavy guy.  I always say with scrums that it’s a collective effort.  We were reasonably pleased with the way it  went , and we know that we have some hard scrummaging contests during the rest of the season.

John               A week later, and you were unwittingly a central character at Welford Road. Not like you to be ‘booed off’, is it?

Andrew          It was all good fun.  I thought our scrum went well and that we put them under pressure.

John               Let’s look back at England and say that the season ended quite satisfactorily.  You played in all five games, did you not?

Andrew          Yes, in every game: it was an enjoyable eight weeks. I didn’t understand the criticism of the Italy game.  We scored five tries and I would have thought after the Autumn games, where we’d lost heavily to the top three teams in the World, if you’d said after the last one against New Zealand that you were going to beat Italy with five tries, most people would have taken it. We  built on that win.

John               In your two hardest games, in Wales and Ireland, you came out defeated but with great credit, I’d say, actually recalling some ‘experienced’ friends rather than young hopefuls.  I’m thinking of  Joe Worsley and Simon Shaw here.

Andrew          We played some good rugby during the tournament.  Obviously, for those games you mentioned, the big focus was on discipline, with all the yellow cards being issued, but it was nice to finish with two good wins.

John               Indeed - I was there for the France game, and glad I’d taken my seat in plenty of time! 29-0 up by half time!  Then, a rather different game against the Scots.

Andrew          Games against Scotland are always tough: they’re very physical in defence. I’m glad we ended the Tournament on a high.

John               Notwithstanding the disappointments of the Autumn, do you think that Martin Johnson has settled into his new role?

Andrew          As a player, you let the coaches and management get on with their job.  Everything’s pretty settled  - it’s up to you to keep playing well and ‘do your bit’ for the team.

John               The papers regularly gave you good ‘marks out of ten’.

Andrew          You don’t read them, John, do you?

John               Well, I’ve actually tried it and it’s not easy: you can watch one side, but not both.

Andrew          When you go over it on video, you see players doing different things.  If you watch a game live, you see people carrying the ball, making big tackles, kicking goals.  We have different jobs, so when you study the game closely, you ask, “Is he clearing out in that ruck effectively?”  It’s all the little things like that which are  picked up by the coaches.

John               I’m sure you’ll be asked plenty of times, so I might as well join the list…….

Andrew          About the Lions?

John               Have you been to South Africa before?

Andrew          I have - nine years ago, with England, in 2000.  I thought you’d have known that!

John               Err, hum……and you’d love to go again?  Of course you would! You’re one of the ‘not many English’ names being mentioned by the pundits.

Andrew          We’ll see on the 21^st.  I enjoyed the eight weeks away with England, but it was nice to return home, and get back training and playing with your club.

John               How about your life away from the hurly burly of rugby? The  bricklaying, the guitar, any spare-time reading?

Andrew          I passed my bricklaying exams, and the guitar….well I just play it at home.  Still composing away and continue to love the country music! I only read when away. I prefer autobiographies: I’ve just finished the one by Dwayne Chambers.  An interesting book, written honestly.  He’s served his ban, and should be allowed to  take up his sport again.  He seems to be having difficulty receiving financial support and invitations to race meetings.

Tags: Add new tag, Andrew Sheridan, Interview, one2one
This entry was posted on Monday, April 20th, 2009 at 11:52 am.
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