James Haskell is like an 18-year-old all over again
Haskell, 30, made his Wasps debut in 2003 in a team full of club legends such as Lawrence Dallaglio and spent his days in the shadow of his heroes looking to pick up details that made them the best in the business.
In the 12 years since Haskell has continued on the quest to better himself, taking on new challenges in France, Japan and New Zealand while winning 62 England caps along the way.
And despite being the new club captain, Haskell says the arrival of Wallaby great Smith from Lyon has taken him back to being like an 18-year-old again.
“When we found out George had signed some of the boys gave me banter that I could lose my spot but I can't wait to work with him,” Haskell told The Rugby Paper.
“He's a guy I've looked up to during my career. You don't get 111 Wallabies caps if you're not any good. I want to learn from him as much as I can. I'm following him around doing extra training – he must think I'm weird.
“It reminds me when I was coming through the academy. I was doing the same with Lawrence. The only difference is that, unlike Lawrence, George is too polite to tell me I'm annoying.
“We have a good balance in the back-row with myself and Nathan Hughes carrying hard while George is outstanding as a link player and you often see him pop in at first receiver.”
On the back of a disappointing World Cup with England, Haskell enjoyed a week off but he was back in the thick of things last week- end in the win over Bath.
He said: “It's good to be back and I really enjoyed playing 80 minutes against Bath – something I hadn't done for a while. It's nice to be captain again. It's different in the England squad because there are other leaders but here I can lead from the front because I'm playing. That's the way I like to be as a captain.
“I like that responsibility of leading the team. I can't afford to mope around and complain about the World Cup because my club needs me to be fully focused on the task ahead.
“Getting our first win of the season against a team like Bath, who were unlucky not to win the league last season, is great way to get things going.”
That Bath match was the start of five frantic weeks which will see Wasps take on Leicester today, then Gloucester, Leinster and Toulon. But Haskell would not have it any other way.
“Playing Leicester is now a local derby but that rivalry has always been there for me because of what they've achieved,” he added.
“We need to win away from home in the toughest conditions if we want to kick on and become genuine contenders and it doesn't come much bigger than Welford Road.
“The club's in a great place because of the great work people behind the scenes have done. Now it's down to the players to deliver. We don't have any excuses.”
NICK VERDIER
