James Haskell: I’ll never give up fight to play for England

James Haskell was quick to brush off his latest England snub and with Tom Croft now ruled out for the season, opportunity knocks for the Wasps back row again.
Absent from England’s summer tour to Argentina after undergoing surgery on a long-standing condition he calls “housewife’s knee”, Haskell, 28, finds himself relegated to the Saxons again.
Matt Kvesic and Billy Vunipola are the latest back row kids on the block but forcing his way back after adversity is second nature to Haskell.
In the summer of 2012, he toured South Africa but was then named in the Saxons squad, only to feature in win over the All Blacks and in all five Six Nations matches.
But Croft’s latest setback could mean an instant return to the senior set-up for Haskell, whose versatility and hard-edged presence is valued by Lancaster, and the Wasps man is more than happy to prove himself again with Chris Robshaw, Tom Wood and Ben Morgan also in the back row mix.
“I kind of expected that I’d be left out of the senior squad,” said Haskell, who hopes to be fit to return next month.
“I didn’t tour Argentina because of injury. But the one thing that is very clear is that the Saxons and England squad are one entity. We all train together, so if you’re back performing well, you’ll do well.
“I was in the Saxons last year and then ended up playing in the autumn and then all the Six Nations games. Yeah, it’s down on the paper and it’s where their preferences lie but you can only try to put your best performance down on the field and make sure you upset their thinking.
“You get one opportunity to have a career. I’ve had surgery and I want to come back and try and be fit.
“There’re a lot of talented players around at the minute so whatever I can do to make the difference, to try to help myself performing, I’ll take that.
“I’ve said to Stuart that I’m desperate to play for England, but I’m also happy to sit under the radar and build myself back up with Wasps.”
Articulate and opinionated, Haskell has always divided opinion but his desperation to play for England again is genuine and it has resulted in 50 England caps – Toby Flood is the only member of the EPS with more.
Once always in a rush, Haskell is now happy to wait as he sets about trying to convince Lancaster again, and, bearing in mind his whistle stop global tour, he thinks his recent break was well-timed.
“I had knee surgery about 15 weeks ago,” he added. “I had bursitis and tendinitis in both knees. I’ve had it for about ten years now. It was painful. Bursitis is more painful than anything.
“They used to call it housewife’s knee from way back when housewives were always scrubbing the floor.
“I tried to manage it but it just became untenable and I couldn’t run, jump, be dynamic, do anything. So I had an operation to cut it out, I had my tendon scraped backwards and forwards.
“I was probably operating at only 70 per cent last season. I managed to put together some games for England and for Wasps but I was not where I wanted to be.
“But now I’m on the road to recovery. I don’t expect to come back and be unbelievable, but this is the first proper rest I’ve had in the last five years and I’m older and wiser now.”
PIPPA FIELD