“I’ll prove a point to Harlequins,” says Tom Guest
But now 29, and with Exiles’ pre-season to sink his teeth into, the No.8 is adamant that it is not too late for the Premiership to see what he can offer.
When he burst onto the scene at the Stoop in 2005 Guest was tipped for big things and England Saxons call-ups followed for the 2008 and 2009 Churchill Cups.
But the imposing figure of Nick Easter blocked his path. In his eight Quins seasons Guest never started more than 13 league games in a campaign although it was a broken leg in 2011 that wrecked what looked like being his breakthrough.
Guest will have a point to prove to his former employers and, more importantly, to himself next season. He told The Rugby Paper: “In my mind I know I’m that standard (a regular Premiership starter).
“If I were to retire right now I wouldn’t be satisfied with how my career has gone so far but it would have been very easy to stay at Quins and carry on how it was going.
“For the last few years I’ve been complaining to (director of rugby Conor O’Shea). I’m never happy with the amount I’m playing so he was aware what I was thinking.
“I spoke to my wife last year about my career and we were very honest and, looking back, I should have gone earlier.
“But at the time you’re getting told things by Quins and you’re looking two years ahead. So I could say it was a mistake but I had a great time and there were a lot of good memories.
“From a personal point of view there is a lot of motivation to prove a point.
“I feel in really good nick physically, I have certainly got a good few years left in me because I haven’t got the same miles on the clock as someone of my age might normally have.”
To say competition in the back-row at Harlequins was fierce might be something of an understatement.
The ever-green Easter was always going to take some shifting from Guest’s preferred No.8 position, Chris Robshaw is England captain and the emerging Luke Wallace is now in the Saxons set-up.
That is without mentioning the likes of Maurie Fa’asavalu and Joe Trayfoot but, even in cameos this season, Guest caught the eye with his speed off the mark.
Indeed it was his try in the last-minute at Sandy Park against Exeter Chiefs that kept Quins’ Premiership play-off challenge alive.
And the man himself admits that playing second fiddle had eventually taken its toll. “It did not take long to make the decision to be honest,” he said. “It was very frustrating not being picked.
“People say you’re not playing well enough, or the other person is playing really well but how can you ever prove a point if you are only playing 20 minutes here and there?
“And when I was starting it was the LV= Cup or Premiership games during the Six Nations when other players are away and no-one is really that bothered to be honest.
“Nick (Easter) just never seems to get injured. But I was looking around the squad and someone like Dave Ward would be the first to admit that at the start of the season he was probably third or fourth choice at the club and could only have been expecting to play a couple of games.
“But within the first couple of months Rob (Buchanan) and Joe (Gray) both went down, he got his chance and look where he is now, on tour to New Zealand with England.
“Speaking with Brian (Smith) at the back-end of last year, he told me about where the club was going and where they have been as well.
“And that challenge really excited me and I’m looking forward to going forward and trying to help the club to the position that they want to be.”
CHARLIE TALBOT-SMITH
