My Life in Rugby: Will Skinner – former Harlequins flanker

Even though the club has won the Premiership, LV= Cup and the Amlin Cup in its recent past, the games in Harlequins history everyone wants to talk about are the ones against Stade Francais in the Heineken Cup.
It’s because it seemed to signal the start of a new Quins – and what a feeling it was. They were two incredible spectacles.
I didn’t think of the magnitude of playing in front of 78,000 Parisians but afterwards I was visibly shaking with the adrenaline and emotion of what we’d done.
Then we brought them back to The Stoop and put together 29 phases in injury time for Nick Evans to clinch it for us. It was stuff that dreams are made of.
My rugby started when I followed my older brothers, Richard and David, to Olney. I was only five but played in the U7s. My enthusiasm surpassed my skill – I got ‘Most Improved Player’ which I think was code for being rubbish!
When playing for Bedford School I caught the eye of the England U16 selectors. I started to think it might be possible so I joined up with Leicester Academy after finishing school with Bedford.
One reason I went there was that whole aura surrounding Leicester. Dean Richards as director of rugby, John Wells as forwards coach, and Josh Kronfeld, Lewis Moody, Neil Back there as influential back rowers.
Backy was very competitive and saw me as someone trying to steal his place rather than needing help so he was there for me the most when he finished.
A year into my academy deal, Dean gave me a two-year contract. When he left it was bad timing as I had to go for a shoulder reconstruction. So with Pat Howard coming in and me coming back from injury, I wasn’t playing as much as I wanted and they told me they weren’t planning to offer me a new contract.
I was talking to Deano at that time because we still had a great relationship and he said there might be a place at Quins. Eventually he offered a two-year contract. I counter-offered – just give me one year, I’m going to give everything I can to rugby, and if it doesn’t work out I’ll explore other avenues.
It was not just about the rugby at Harlequins – I absolutely loved living in London. Leicester was special, too, but when I look back it worked out as a blessing in disguise.
I imagine I was the annoying upstart always in everyone’s ear, but I was trying to show what I could do on the pitch and lead by example and it was a proud moment when Dean made me the youngest-ever Premiership captain at 24.
With Dean getting banned in 2009, amid that whole scenario I tried to lead the guys and keep the negative intrusions away. We weren’t as successful as the year before without a director of rugby but given all the pressure it was a season to be proud of.
I kept in contact and still do with Dean as a friend. When I was told I’d have to retire, he was one of the first I rang and he joked it was a good thing he hadn’t brought me to Newcastle!
Injuries are an on-going thing for any player, I’ve had 11 or 12 operations during the pre-seasons and the first game of the 2012 season damaged my neck. I had the major operation in January this year and though it improved, the surgeon said using your head to bash players might not be the best idea anymore!