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'Martin Johnson pretty much said I wasn't good enough' - How being dropped for Lewis Moody changed the career of Steffon Armitage

By Ian Cameron

Former England back row Steffon Armitage says that being dropped by Martin Johnson in favour of Lewis Moody proved a catalyst for him to move to France and to better himself as a rugby player.

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Armitage, who is currently playing for Biarritz in the ProD2, has enjoyed a stellar career in France since he decamped from London Irish back in 2011. He enjoyed memorable spells at Toulon and Pau and the 34-year-old is now trying to negotiate the pitfalls of French rugby’s second flight.

“You haven’t played French rugby until you’ve played ProD2. Can you see on the weekends the way the referees and the way the rules are different,” Armitage told Le French Rugby Podcast. “It’s tough. It’s special.”

Born in Trinidad, Armitage and his brothers grew up watching and playing cricket and not rugby. Brian Lara, not Will Carling, was their collective boyhood idol and it wasn’t until they moved to the UK that the oval ball would come to dominate the household.

“My dad took us to see our first rugby match, Richmond against Northampton, when they were in the Premiership. It looked kind of fun and a little bit scary. I was tiny, my brothers were as well. We weren’t the biggest guys and just to see people smacking each other, it was different.

“My mum got the good idea that instead of smashing each other at home, why don’t you go and try and do it against someone else? We said why not and since that day we loved it.”

After a spell at Saracens, Armitage’s formative years in professional rugby would come at London Irish under the tutelage of Toby Booth and Neal Hatley.

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“All through the academy at London Irish, the coaches we’ve had, they’ve looked after us really well. They were very down to earth. They knew when to push us. Sometimes we needed a little kick and knew when to do it.

“Having Toby Booth there and Neal Hatley, just having all those boys around me, it was just great. You can see by all the boys who have gone on to other clubs: Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph, Matt Banahan and Matt Garvey, Tom Homer, the names just go on. They’re all over the country.”

Yet while he was becoming a force to reckon with at club level, Armitage would win just five caps for England in a Test career that was practically over before it started. Being dropped by then England head coach Martin Johnson in 2010 for backrow veteran Lewis Moody would prove a seminal moment in his career.

“We went on tour to Australia with England. It was tough. Martin Johnson pretty much said I wasn’t good enough and to go away and improve myself. For me to improve myself, I had to go and push myself.”

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“It’s hard as we got to Australia and you were told ‘you’re going to start the first Test’ and everything was going well. Training was going good and then all of a sudden I got called in and I was told ‘we need Lewis Moody’s experience’.

Steffon Armitage Biarritz
Steffon Armitage has found a new club in the form of French Pro D2 side Biarritz. (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images).

“I was like ‘how am I supposed to get experience?’. So I thought I was going to be on the bench and then I was told ‘We’re going to put Joe Worsely on the bench because he can cover all three back-row positions’.

“I was like ‘I’ve got a problem’, looks like I’m not going to be playing at all. It was definitely a shock and it definitely made me want to try harder and go away and become a better player. I always said from that day I’m never going to give them any excuses not to pick me.”

“At London Irish, in my head, most weekends I knew I would be in the team. I needed that extra step to make me become a better player.

“I got an offer to go to Toulon from Philippe Saint-André. He said, ‘if you come out, you’re going to be fourth choice’. I wanted to prove to myself and to everyone that I was good enough. I had to get over there and push for a starting place at Toulon. I took the hard step. I gave up everything, me and my wife, and we moved over and I’m glad we did as it made me the player I am today.”

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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