Dave Attwood has done it all himself, says Danny Grewcock

As a bruising second row with a CV that features one or two misdemeanours, Dave Attwood has often been compared to former Bath lock Danny Grewcock.
But  Grewcock, one of England’s greatest enforcers, declines to take any credit for Attwood’s career revival, claiming it all belongs to the man himself.
Two England summer starts against Argentina were Attwood’s first – two-and-a-half years after he burst on the scene as the “next Martin Johnson” on the tour Down Under.
But Attwood’s career stalled after he was cited during England’s 2010 clash with the Australian Barbarians. When it happened again, following a stamp on European duty for Gloucester at the end of the year, he was out on his ear as far as the Red Rose were concerned.
Now he is right back in the mix, having learnt to curb his over-enthusiasm, but Grewcock, who, among a number of indiscretions, was sent home from the 2005 Lions tour and missed the 2007 World Cup entirely, claims the transformation has come from within.
“There has to be a huge amount of credit given to Dave Attwood,” said Grewcock, now in charge of the Bath academy.
“This was a tough club for most people involved last year but he was one of the outstanding performers.
“He was one of our most consistent performers throughout in a difficult position – the second row is no easy place to be.
“His performances week in, week out were at the top end of that.
“He was rewarded during the summer with the England call and he has continued that form through this season.”
That Attwood got his chance against the Pumas this summer, was in no small part due to his form in a transitional Bath side last season, but also due to Geoff Parling’s secondment to the Lions. He was favoured by some to partner Joe Launchbury over Courtney Lawes this autumn for his greater lineout nous but such has been the progress made by the Northampton Saint in that department that he is now calling the shots for England.
Parling has found himself restricted to the bench and Attwood, a replacement against Australia with the Leicester Tiger nursing a concussion, was released for the Argentina and New Zealand clashes.
He responded in the best possible fashion, scoring a superb – and match-winning – try against Sale last weekend, and Grewcock believes Lancaster will not be able to ignore such form when it comes to the Six Nations.
“If you look through the Premiership there are a lot of very good second rows and there’s good, healthy competition for him,” said Grewcock, winner of 69 England caps and five for the Lions.
“But again, to be involved in that 23 against Australia and get some game time was a fantastic reward for his efforts.
“He has worked incredibly hard and played a lot of very good games for the club. He’s good enough to get some starts.
“He has a lot of competition but, with his form for the club, I’m sure if we continue to see that then he’ll be making selection even tougher for Stuart, Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell. “These boys have some tough decisions to make.”
JONATHAN GREEN