My Life in Rugby: Alex Brown – former Bristol, Gloucester and England lock

I won the Amlin Cup, the LV= Cup and finished top of the table at Gloucester but never getting a Premiership winners’ medal is a regret.
We built a really strong side at Gloucester but looking at it you can understand why we had that tag of ‘nearly men’.
I remember the Challenge Cup in 2006 was a pretty crazy match, we beat London Irish 36-34, and the win over Newcastle a couple of years ago in the LV= was great as well. Having lost a few finals you appreciate it a little more.
But unfortunately when it came to the Premiership play-offs we couldn’t quite do it.
I’d come to Gloucester in 2003 after three years home town club Bristol, and it’s fair to say Dean Ryan had a big influence on me.
I started playing alongside him at Bristol before he became my coach. Then when he went to Gloucester I worked with him there.
I loved my three years at Bristol, I’d arrived after a couple at Pontypool, which I think made a massive impact for me. Getting the chance to play week-in, week-out in adult rugby made for a steep learning curve but it was great experience.
I look at young guys now who end up playing very little rugby and spend their time training, and I’m grateful I got the chances I did.
When I moved to Bristol I got the chance to work with Dean and Garath Archer in the second row, and was lucky enough to be voted the club’s player of the season in my second year.
The great thing with Dean is that he really tries to get the players to think for themselves, and it suited my game.
I loved studying the lineout, that was probably what I enjoyed most and he pretty much allowed me to run it myself.
My move from Gloucester changed things with regards to England as well. It was never really on the cards at Bristol but once I moved to Kingsholm I was on the radar.
Unfortunately I got injured just as I’d been called up to the England squad before a Six Nations so I ended up having to wait a little longer.
All three of my caps came on tours, in Australia and then South Africa. You always remember your first, and from there you want to win more and more.
But when I look back I guess the injuries at the wrong time played a part. Still I’m not the only one in that position, just look at James Simpson-Daniel for someone who could have won many more caps.
This season has obviously been very tough, picking up the shoulder injury which has forced me to quit.
But part of the way I look at it is that I have been quite fortunate with the timing. Of course, when I’m at games it’s horrible not being able to play but then again, because I was injured early in the season it gave me the opportunity to stay involved in the club.
I’m rugby operations manager, which will give me the chance to stay involved in the analysis side of things.
Nigel Davies has been brilliant since he came, and was great with me after the injury. I still need to find my feet with the new role but staying involved has been a huge relief.
There’s a good team in place with Nigel, Carl Hogg, Mike Tindall and Paul Moriarty, and with the young guys coming through I’m looking forward to helping the team.