My Life in Rugby: Tom Guest – former Harlequins and London Irish back-rower
There are always things you wish you’d done differently or hoped would have turned out better, and obviously London Irish going down was a disappointment.
I pretty much started every game in my first season at Irish, and that was really enjoyable after struggling to become a first-choice regular in the Quins back row. It was nice to have that expectation of starting so you could put all your energy into playing well rather than get stressed out about whether you were in the side or not. It’s also a lot easier to get rhythm in your game.
Ironically, my first and last two games for Irish were against Quins, the club where it all started for me from school. Collin Osborne was my first coach and a real mentor to me. I don’t think he has got the credit he deserves for his part in Quins’ success. His talent-spotting and ability to teach people the basic skills is second to none.
My first game for Quins was as a replacement for Andre Vos against Natal Sharks midway through our relegation season, in 2004/5. I thought I played quite well but the next day I was told I was going to be loaned out to Esher, which was a bit of a comedown. But I learnt quickly what it was like to play men’s rugby in the National Leagues and it stood me in good stead.
At Quins I’d came up through the ranks alongside Tom Williams, Adrian Jarvis and Mark Lambert, and it was very exciting time for all of us although losing our Premiership status was a bit of a shock to the system. I think everyone outside of the club was happy we went down, we were pretty much hated by everyone because of the old ‘city-slicker’ image.
In National One we were the team everyone wanted to beat and it was a tough but enjoyable season.
When we came back up I think we kicked off with a 10-game losing streak until we beat Connacht in Europe. From that point on it was onwards and upwards and we could all see the direction the club was going in.
I felt I played my best and most consistent rugby for Quins in the first half of the 2010/11 season. Unfortunately, I got a small break in my leg which never really healed properly and I was sidelined for the second half of the year. To compound matters, I broke my arm in my first game back, so that was a bad 12 months.
Of course, Nick Easter’s presence in the team – he never seemed to get injured – restricted my opportunities to play in my best position at No.8. In hindsight, I probably should have moved on and I think I would have done so had Dean Richards stayed at the club. That’s nothing personal towards him, it was just the fact I knew I didn’t really figure in his plans.
But had I left I would have missed being part of a Premiership-winning squad or picked up Challenge Cup and LV= Cup winners’ medals. On a personal level the LV Cup victory in 2013 was a real highlight.
We had a tough opener against Northampton but after that we won all our games comfortably, including the final against Sale, with a mixture of kids and first team fringe players. People may do the competition down but that was a special group to be involved with, and some of the rugby we played was outstanding. And to score in a final is something I cherish.
Now retired, I’m going to join the family business which manufactures plumbing applications.
