Brown lays out targets after England axe
Spring 2019 hasn’t been easy for Mike Brown. Usually he would be in the thick of things in England’s challenge for Six Nations honours. That was the drill for seven consecutive years, the full-back featuring in 32 of his country’s 35 matches in the tournament from 2012 to 2018.
This year, though, he has been surplus to requirements and it has hurt. England talk was firmly off the agenda when he gave RugbyPass an insight into how he is busy occupying himself with Harlequins’ charge up the Gallagher Premiership table.
Not since 2012 have the Londoners lifted the trophy, but there is a spring in their current step, winning momentum that sees them go into Sunday’s home match against Gloucester on the back of five successive victories and a sense that this could be their year to cause an upset.
“That is what we’re aiming for and desperate to achieve,” said Brown, who was in Portugal at England’s pre-Six Nations camp and then travelled with the squad for their opening round win over Ireland in Dublin before being left to concentrate on club duties.
“We’re all working incredibly hard – coaches, staff and players – to keep improving and pushing each other to improve. If we keep doing this then there’s no reason why we can’t do it again. But we just need to concentrate on each game as it comes and preparing well week-on-week, while continually improving.”
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This time last year, Quins were in the flux of a downward spiral. John Kingston, a loyal lieutenant during the trophy-winning Conor O’Shea era, had run out of road and was parked, paving the way for the cub to recruit Paul Gustard from Eddie Jones’ England set-up.
To say the switch has worked out well would be an understatement. “John Kingston is a top bloke and someone who I still speak to now. I’m not going to go over the past and what’s gone. I’m very much looking forward and excited about what may come.
“Paul has brought in a huge work ethic and demands it from us. He leads from the front in that respect with how hard he works, which is infectious. His energy and enthusiasm is also infectious which makes coming in every day so great. He also knows when to have fun at the right times.
“The thing I’ve really liked is how Paul just lets me be me, play the way which brings the best out of me and encourages me to be that. That is showing with how I’m playing.”
Now 33, Brown has packed a hell of a lot into a headline career that has had its share ups and downs. If he could write a letter to a 20-year-old version of himself starting out on the path that earned him 72 England caps, he’d keep the advice simple. “I’d say to him it’s incredibly tough so if you aren’t fully committed to it then don’t bother. Give everything you have and you’ll get the rewards. It’s worth it.”
Longevity has been the name of Brown’s game and his loyalty to Quins is rewriting history. He recently became their most capped player, surpassing Grahame Murray’s 46-year appearance record, when he played for the 308th time last month. He has also tied with Ugo Monye as the club’s record professional era try scorer, his February score against Bristol his 89th try so far.
? What are you doing tonight?
? We're watching this insane @mikebrown_15 offload on repeat#COYQ pic.twitter.com/ZdVtuoYDUy
— Harlequins ? (@Harlequins) March 4, 2019
It won’t be until the boots are hung up that the significance of these individual achievements fully sets in, but Brown is pleased to have stuck by Quins. His 14-season attachment with the club is a rarity at a time where there is so much inter-club movement with players moving on from one contract to the next.
“Harlequins were the club which gave me the chance to be a professional player. It’s a great club to be part of with so much history. Being part of that and part of teams adding to the history is a big motivating factor,” he explained.
“It’s also where I’ve been able to grow up with a number of players from a young age, the likes of Danny Care, Joe Marler, so that makes it special.
“Obviously I’m proud of these milestones but I will look at these things even more when I’ve finished my career. What’s more important to me is winning things with Harlequins and the last few years we’ve been nowhere near doing that, which I found incredibly frustrating.
“This season we have improved as a team and are now in knockout stages in Europe and currently third in the Premiership, so we’re on the right track. Hopefully we can keep getting better because I’m desperate, like everyone here is, to put this great club back where it belongs, competing for trophies.”
? STAT | Quins have scored 2?2? tries in their last four @premrugby matches
? Ahead of our match against Gloucester on Sunday, Mark Mapletoft runs us through his three favourites ?
? Disagree? Let us know which tries would make your top three.#COYQ | #HARvGLO pic.twitter.com/YlO6gr7xt3
— Harlequins ? (@Harlequins) March 7, 2019
That ambition take its latest step with Sunday’s visit of fourth-place Gloucester to the Stoop. The game’s scheduling on the same weekend as the England-Italy match across the road on Saturday at Twickenham means it won’t attract the level of attention it would normally.
Brown, though, can’t speak highly enough about his rare bread-and-butter Premiership experience at a time of the year when he would usually have been be involved on the international scene.
“All the games I’ve played in for Quins during the Six Nations have had brilliant crowds and the atmosphere at home and away has been brilliant.”
Comments on RugbyPass
We had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
55 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
55 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
55 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
55 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
55 Go to comments