29 October 2004
Andy Gomarsall has spent all of his international career battling for the number 9 shirt. Now for the first time he finds himself in the box seat as England’s most experienced scrum half. And as he tells Howard Johnson, he’s going to make the most of the opportunity.

First things first, then. Matt Dawson’s surprise decision to step down from the England Elite Player Squad in September due to business commitments didn’t only affect Matt Dawson. With Kyran Bracken having opted to retire from the international scene as long ago as the end of the World Cup, Dawson’s decision to withdraw from the international scene – at least for the foreseeable future – means that in less than a year England’s senior scrum half pool has suddenly shrunk from three to one. Which leaves Andy Gomarsall, so often the nearly man of the Number 9 jersey, in the bizarre position of being de facto Number One. Of course the Leicester Tigers’ Harry Ellis has been identified as a potential scrum half of international calibre. But he’d be the first to admit that he’s still got a lot to learn. So Gomars it is in the box seat. Funny old world, innit?

“Like most people I was pretty shocked when I heard about Matt,” he admits. “I can see both sides of the situation, but the message is clear. If anyone’s commitments outside rugby come before the team, then they’ll face the consequences. I know Matt very well, I know he wants to play, but I know that he also wants to secure his long-term future in the media; that’s very important to him. He’s achieved absolutely everything in rugby and he has to think about the future. I wish him all the best.” Andy admits he hasn’t spoken to Dawson about his decision – “I’m waiting for all the fuss to die down” – but there’s certainly nothing sinister in that. Gomarsall, Dawson and Bracken have had to deal with more than enough mangled personal politics between the three of them over the years already.

“Matt and Kyran are both top lads and we’ve always got on very well together. All three of us wanted the scrum half position in the England team more than anything, but the England environment was always very sportsmanlike and the first person to shake your hand if you made the team was always your main rival.” Well, nearly always.

“I do remember one time when Matt took over from me for one Six Nations game and I was so upset I couldn’t speak to him for a day,” confesses Andy. “I finally went up and said ‘Sorry mate. I was so disappointed I couldn’t face you. But I’m over it now.’ And I shook his hand. It’s always hard. You think you’re the best in your position in England, but it’s up to just one person to decide whether you’re right or not.” That person was Sir Clive Woodward, and while he was always scrupulously fair in his treatment of the three scrum halves, there’s no doubt that his personal preference was for Dawson.

“It was frustrating for me,” Gomarsall acknowledges. “I had some really good games for England and was able to keep my place in the team. But the competition was so fierce that I’d have an average game and I’d be straight out, even if I hadn’t actually done something wrong.

You had to take it on the chin but it was hard to do that, especially when I was younger. As you get older you become a more rounded person and other things become important in your life, but back then...” There’s no sense that Andy feels he was treated unjustly, though. In fact, he’s perfectly happy to admit to the weaknesses in his game in those early days.

“Oh, I’m so much better now than I used to be. I blew hot and cold in the past.” Indeed he did. But then it was always that way. From the get-go Andy’s career has been more a case of ‘three steps forward, two steps back’. Bursting onto the scene with Wasps, he was quickly identified as a Number 9 of international stature, possessed of a pass of exceptional quality. The potential was plain for all to see.

Jack Rowell was quick to call him into the England squad, and he made his full début against Italy in 1996. It looked like he was set fair for scaling some dizzying heights. And then? Well, let Gomars take up the story...

“I’d been in Jack Rowell’s squad, which had felt like a big bonus at the time. Then when Clive took over I was out in the wilderness for a bit.” And things got worse. After winning the Powergen Cup with Wasps in 1999, he was suddenly told by the London side that his services were no longer required.

“Wasps forced me out,” he says, pulling no punches. “And then for a while it seemed as if every direction I took I hit a brick wall. I didn’t have many places to turn.” Bedford came to Gomarsall’s rescue, but it seemed as if an international return was a million miles away.

“I was captain of Bedford and playing well, but it was a real surprise when I got back into the England squad for the 2000 Six Nations. I got a taste again and then got injured, so I had to force my way back in again.” More stop. More start.

“The main thing I missed was having a settled club,” Andy admits when he looks back on those times. “Matt and Paul Grayson were an item at Northampton and I never got to establish a long relationship with a fly half after my time with Alex King at Wasps. It’s only now that I finally feel settled with Duncan McRae at Gloucester.”

The Cherry & Whites, it’s clear, have acted as the biggest catalyst in the rejuvenation of Gomarsall’s career. Having been recruited to Kingsholm by then coach Philippe Saint-Andre, the Number 9 seems to have finally found a place he can call home. Once he’d arrived his performances improved and his consistency came on in leaps and bounds. And people finally started to accept that here was a genuine contender for the position as England’s first choice Number 9. There were signs all through 2004 that Clive Woodward was finally leaning towards Gomarsall as his preferred option when he was chosen ahead of Dawson for some of the Six Nations games, then the last two tests of the summer tour. Even if Dawson had been available for the forthcoming autumn international it would have been hard to get a cigarette paper between them when it came to selection.

“It’s always been ridiculously competitive in my position,” he agrees. “But now I’m the most experienced scrum half, rather than the least experienced. What I’ve desired for ages is not to have just one or two games here and there, but a run in the team. I hope my form will give me that now. I’ve changed and improved as a player and I hope that I’ll be able to express myself and put my stamp on a game.” The boy’s not lacking in confidence that he can deliver either...

“I think my pass is strong and I hope that can give the backs more time and allow England to play a wider game. I desperately want to develop a relationship with Jonny Wilkinson – who’s a great distributor himself – and give him the armchair ride. I haven’t had the opportunity to do that, but I always knew I’d outlast Matt and Kyran because I’m younger. England have obviously played a style which was best suited to Matt. Now I hope I can influence the team’s style and get a run in the side. I’m so looking forward to it.” If medals were handed out for enthusiasm right now, then Andy would already be wearing gold round his neck. But he says his excitement about the new England is matched every step of the way by Head Coach Andy Robinson.

“He’s got fantastic passion for the future and the belief he has really draws you in and inspires you to work hard and sacrifice everything for the next four years. The first training session we had with Andy had a real buzz about it. People were obviously trying to impress the new boss and we knew there were places up for grabs, but it was more than that. Everyone really enjoyed it.

“Andy’s an inspiration and has been great for me because he’s always got the forwards going. When they go forward that makes my job easier. There’s no doubt that he wants England to be the first team ever to retain the World Cup.” A realistic ambition? Who knows? But there are some more pressing matters that need addressing, not the least of which are the three forthcoming autumn internationals against Canada, South Africa and Australia. Not that this triple test is ruffling Gomarsall’s feathers, despite those three England losses on the summer tour of New Zealand and Australia.

“We’ve established a system now that enables you to go out to perform to the best of your ability. Now it’s about working out some systems on the field and going from there. I don’t think we should read too much into the summer. Just look how quickly South Africa have turned things around. There’s no reason why our recent disappointing results can’t be turned around too.” Don’t look for a seismic shift in style from the new look England, though.

“I don’t think there’ll be a dramatic change. We’ve worked so hard over the years to formulate a plan that it would be foolish to shelve it. But Andy will no doubt be looking at the personnel he has available and playing to their strengths. Rugby’s all about making use of space and some of the new guys have got incredible pace. It would be a travesty not to make use of that to open up gaps.” And what kind of a return would satisfy you from the three games?

“It has to be three wins, without a doubt. We have to be going out to win every time we take to the field at Twickenham. We’ve got a proud record at home and there are players who’ve been in sides that lost at Twickenham who haven’t been seen again. I don’t want to be one of them.” Indeed, Gomarsall’s ambition stretches way beyond the next three games.

“I learnt a lot from Clive and from the experienced guys who won the World Cup. All I was thinking during the celebrations that night in Sydney was how much I wanted to do it at the next World Cup. I spoke to Andy straight afterwards and told him that I was there for the next four years and that I wanted to be wearing the Number 9 shirt in the next tournament. Nothing’s changed for me since then. I’m looking forward to showing what I can do. I’m a stronger person than I used to be, a more rounded person. At one time I looked in the mirror and I didn’t like what I was seeing. I took a long hard look at myself and worked at improving both as a player and as a person. Now it’s up to me. I’ve got four or five big years left in me and I hope I can make a real contribution towards attaining the success that we’re all striving for. Now’s the time for me to do it, because let’s face it, you’re a long time retired.”