Chapter Eleven

DREAMING OF LIONS

One of my first rugby memories is of watching the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia in 2001. I wasn't playing much rugby at the time. I was thirteen and only just getting into it. But when something like that is on the telly, of course you watch it.

I remember Scott Quinnell scoring a try in the first Test in Brisbane and him just nodding and smiling after he touched down. But what I really remember is the England flanker Richard Hill playing for that Lions team and thinking to myself, ‘He's somewhere I want to be.' He was my rugby hero growing up. I liked the fact that he was just a real dog. You would see him being interviewed after a game and his face would be beat up to hell but he'd be doing exactly the same the next week.

He was hugely respected by his fellow players. I remember an interview one of the England backs gave once and he was asked who would be the first name on his team-sheet. He said Richard Hill. The average man on the street, who just watches rugby when the Six Nations is on, knows Shane Williams and those sorts of people. But the diehard rugby fan would notice the work that this guy Hill was doing. He was a vital cog in the England team that won the World Cup in 2003 and for me, growing up, he was the player I really looked up to and tried to model myself on. So when Shaun Edwards likened me to him last year, it was amazing. I couldn't ask for a bigger compliment.

To my mind, the turning point of that 2001 Lions tour was when Hill was injured midway through the second Test. Up to that point, the Lions had been on top in the series, but without Hill they went on to lose 2–1. I guess I studied him all the more because I was playing in the same position as him. I was playing flanker for Builth Wells U14s at the time.

The main reason I had started out playing was because my brother Jack was playing rugby for Builth and he played back row. You always look up to your older brothers and sisters. And Richard Hill was his favourite player as well. So you take it all on board and when I saw Hill playing for the Lions in 2001, I knew that's what I wanted to do.

Now things have come full circle and the Lions are going to be touring Australia again this year. Obviously I'd love to be part of that trip. The Lions is the ultimate for a British rugby player. The pinnacle.

A couple of years ago, the pinnacle for me was playing for Wales. I've been given the chance to do that and it's meant the world to me. But once you do that, your goals move on, and to play for the Lions is now a major goal.

It's a really big year with that tour of Australia coming up at the end of the season.

But I never try to look too far ahead and given what happened to me at the start of this season, there's no way I can. Playing against Edinburgh in September, I went to make a tackle and fell back awkwardly, breaking my left leg just above the ankle. Initially, I feared that I'd suffered a fracture and dislocation which would have meant me being out for the whole season. It wasn't quite that bad, but I still needed surgery and I was faced with being out of action for four to five months. That meant I was out of the autumn internationals and was facing a race against time to get back for any of this year's Six Nations. So the challenge of making the Lions tour is now even greater.

Having toured Australia with Wales last summer, it would be great to go back out there.

I didn't get to see that much of the country, other than from the air, because there was a lot of travelling and we had a busy schedule. But in the last week we did have a bit of time off, and it was great to go round Sydney and see the sights. The whole trip was a wonderful experience on and off the field.

I think it was good for us going to Australia, because the Welsh boys that do go on the Lions tour will know what to expect from the country. And they will also be all the keener to go, with Warren Gatland having been appointed Lions coach.

Warren has been brilliant for us. He has brought a lot of younger boys through and we are allowed to play what is in front of us. Obviously, we have our set moves, but he always tells us, ‘Back yourself, you are good enough players, so go out and play.' It's a good feeling to go out there with the freedom to have a go and know that, whether it's the right decision or the wrong decision, as long as you give it your best shot, the coaches will support you. So to play under ‘Gats' for the Lions would be a great experience.

Therefore, it's all the more frustrating to have picked up a pretty serious injury at the start of this season. However, the injury aside, I couldn't be any happier with my lot. I'm treated really well at the Dragons. I can't thank them enough for what they've done for me, especially in the early days of my career. They gave me the chance to play top-flight rugby and put myself on show to the Welsh selectors. Maybe if I had been at another club I might not be playing international rugby. They are understanding about bumps and bruises, so if you have to miss a session they don't mind, as long as you put it in once you are on the field.

I've loved it with the Dragons and I love playing for Wales. I wouldn't say I'm a perfectionist, but rugby is a short career. No one is going to play for ever, so you've got to try and make the most of it while you are here. Personally, I just want to get as many caps as I can. I want to play as much as I can for Wales because I'm enjoying it so much.

I hope I'm still developing as a rugby player and I'll keep working on certain aspects of my game to become better. It's vital to do so because if you stand still you are going to get overtaken.

I also know, from personal experience, that you have to savour every minute. My brother Jack, who went on to play for Ebbw Vale, had to quit rugby after badly breaking his leg. And, of course, my career could have ended before it really began with the neck injury I suffered out in France.

And, as I write this book, I am once again recovering from injury after breaking my leg. So, for me, it's a case of making the most of every moment and recognising just how very lucky I am.