'Chip on shoulder leaving Ulster motivates me in darkest times'
Long-serving Worcester hooker Niall Annett has given himself a career pat on the back ahead of his final match for the Gallagher Premiership club before his move to Bath, the opposition that is visiting Sixways this Saturday to wrap up the 2021/22 campaign. It was March 1 when the 31-year-old Irishman was unveiled as a new Bath singing, the front-rower deciding to move on from the Warriors after eight rewarding years with them.
People might shrug their shoulders and go so what, that it’s only lowly Worcester but the fact that Annett has carved out a reputable Premiership career for himself is evidence of his sheer determination to individually be a long-term success in the game.
He had come through the ranks at Ulster but rather than sit behind Ireland hookers Rory Best and Rob Herring in the pecking order, he gambled in 2014/15 on spending a year in the Championship at Worcester and all these years later he is still playing in England and ready to join the new broom at Bath under the incoming head of rugby Johann van Graan.
So many players who are ranked third and fourth for a provincial position at an Irish club opt to stay and wait it out for limited exposure but given the prominence he has enjoyed in England in following in the footsteps of fellow Ulsterman Gareth Steenson, who went on to help Exeter to title glory, Annett has called on young players similarly in the position he was in with Ulster to take the plunge and test themselves elsewhere rather than sit on the sidelines.
“Absolutely, Gareth was the example (of leaving Ireland for England) and then briefly before I left Ian Whitten was the example,” explained Annett to RugbyPass. “What I would say is the Irish pathway system is so strong, it’s an amazing system for producing at the very top of the tree the best international team that they can possibly produce.
“But I would like to see more players not be happy and sit and walk around their hometowns in provincial gear and say they are pro rugby players. Go and challenge yourself. Put yourself in positions where it is difficult. It sometimes it isn’t as pretty but at the end of it, if you are not challenging yourself on a week to week basis I’d have concerns for where your career is going. I would like more Irish players stuck in that third/fourth choice to go to leagues where they are looked after and where they have the opportunity to go and really challenge themselves.”
Annett reflects on his own career choices – moving to Worcester from the Ulster shadows – with great satisfaction. “Very positively. In their own way, the eight years at Worcester have personally been a success but with the club, it’s not necessarily been as successful as we wanted.
“The decision was very clear, Rory Best was the out and out No1 hooker in Ireland and Rob and I were fighting really hard for that position (at Ulster). I didn’t do enough at that age or that stage to beat Rob into that space and wasn’t going to settle for sitting and playing a level of rugby like All-Ireland League.
“I was determined and desperate to put my career in the right direction and in fairness to Dean Ryan, he offered me an opportunity to do that via the Championship. I suppose the chip on my shoulder has been a really useful tool, it has been a difficult tool to manage at times because in your own head you are having conversations that aren’t always very easy.
“But the chip on my shoulder having to leave Ulster has been one that motivates me in the darkest and deepest times whenever you need that little kick, whenever you need that inspiration to go and do extra work and work extra hard, so I would say all in all it has been a positive for me. I have had eight years in what I perceive is the toughest league in the world and there are hopefully even a few more of better rugby coming in the next couple of years.”
What impressed Annett most about Worcester was the staunch fashion they stood by him following a season-ruining cruciate injury in September 2017 after he had returned to training following an ankle injury that cut short his previous campaign in February. “That year, in particular, was a hugely difficult one,” he reflected.
“I lost my father and then about four weeks later tore my cruciate. When I reflect on that period, the club and the supporters showed me unbelievable loyalty in a period where a business like rugby doesn’t always do that. That is why the maximum of my effort goes into every performance. It’s almost like I feel indebted to the club for that.
“It would have been easy for me to be spat out of the game sideways into who knows what sort of career after that. I have seen plenty of people that has happened to and I do feel grateful and very, very appreciative that didn’t happen to me.
“There is a huge amount of gratitude because we have all seen guys get spat out into really difficult positions and I was probably very close to that. But at the time there were people in the club making decisions that looked after me and gave me the year I needed to go and prove my fitness and prove my rugby ability.”
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
27 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
27 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
27 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
27 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
27 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments