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Photos: Jack Western
It has been a brilliant season for UYRUFC, and last night York’s players were handed a once in a lifetime opportunity of being coached by England rugby legends Will Greenwood and Austin Healey. The club had won a competition run by AEG which gave them the honour of welcoming the two former internationals to York.
A high intensity training session with a series of well organised drills put York’s players through their paces on a cold night on the 3G, in which everyone sought to impress two of England’s most successful backs of the early 21st century. Under the expert guidance of centre Greenwood and versatile back Healey, York’s players flourished in a number of passing and tackling exercises, which saw their enthusiasm emanate for all to see.
A question and answers session followed, where the former Leicester Tigers players passed on their vast knowledge of the game and recalled some anecdotal tales to the enthused York players, all of whom showed a passion to emulate their coaches for the day, who they viewed with admiration.
I was then fortunate to be able to chat with Greenwood and Healey themselves and the passion and love that the duo have for the game quickly became apparent. Sport has played a significant role in their lives, and they talked about the power of sport in generating interest and enthusiasm for the masses.
AEG help to spread the passion for sport, and by conducting events such as this they raise the profile of sports and give youngsters the opportunity to meet and work with some of the game’s finest. Greenwood added: “The fun side of it is we’re both big kids, I carry kit and boots in the back of my car so if there’s a training session available I’ll be there.” Indeed it is such enthusiasm and dedication which helped to elevate these two from being very good players to outstanding ones, and their passion for the game was infectious.
When asked how they thought their involvement with the project would contribute and help to inspire others, Healey responded: “I don’t want them to emulate me; I want them to do better. Most people will see you as someone who has fun and enjoys yourself, but the message that you always try to get across is the amount of sacrifice that is required, and that if you want to become a great individual sportsmen and you’re in a team, you have to be a team member first.”
He added: “You remember what it’s like when you were a student and your friends were going out every night, and you had one night of the week when you went out and maybe didn’t drink, and you think back to those sacrifices you made, and realise how much it was worth it.”
Greenwood reiterated such insightful words, commenting: “Especially with these university guys there’s an understanding that they’re good rugby players. They’ve had the bit when they came through as eight or nine year olds, the fun getting muddy, and now if they want to be serious they’ve got to step up a level.”
The centre, who had two spells at Harlequins talked about UYRUFC’s current crop of players very positively, giving them glowing praise: “We saw some quality rugby players out there. We saw three teams all here on time, ready to train and listen. You always talk on the rugby field how you’ve got to have the ability to not only be a rock, sort of really hard, nasty, aggressive and pointy; you’ve also got to be a sponge, you’ve got to be able to stand, listen, absorb and put into practice. They’re an amazing bunch of lads, and here they didn’t let us down.”
Throughout their careers both Greenwood and Healey have demonstrated exactly these abilities. Both have shown their physical strength and their ability to battle in hard situations, but they have also demonstrated a great understanding of the game, and it is that which lifts them to the pinnacle of the sport. They have both made over fifty caps for England, whilst Greenwood finished as joint top try scorer in England’s glorious World Cup win in 2003.
However according to Healey the gulf between international stars and your everyday club players is not as great as one would first imagine. He told Vision: “I think a lot of people think that there’s a big difference between club players and internationals or Premier League players, but there’s not really. The skill level is all pretty close across the board, the thing that differentiates you is your ability to deal with pressure, and also your mindset. It’s the mindset and the amount of concentration you put into a game that sets you apart from being somebody who plays for a local club and is happy to do that, versus somebody that is an international star. It’s really only small little fractions which differentiate these two different types of people.”
Greenwood elaborated on this point, remarking: “A good example of this would be George Ford and Owen Farrell. At under 20s George Ford was the England fly-half and Farrell couldn’t get into that position, but as they’ve moved on the next year they’ve both had the opportunity, but Farrell has really grabbed it with two hands. For Ford a classic example is against Saracens; he had three or four amazing touches, and three or four touches that put his team into a bit of bother; as a fly-half you have to be consistently outstanding, you lead the team.” One thing which particularly shone through was both players knowledge of the game, as they clearly and concisely explained details about their careers, tactics and the current situation of the game.
There have been both highs and lows in both players career, and for Greenwood the highlight was scoring a hat-trick against Wales. The 40 year old, who retired in 2006 had the honour of winning the World Cup with England and he commented: “It’s not as such about looking back at caps, it’s much more about looking back at friendships, banter, enjoyment, commitment, and the journey. It really is far more important. The cherry on the top lovely, brilliant; but in reality for me I’ve played rugby all my life and it’s put a smile on my face, that’s what sport is all about.”
39 year old Healey played no part in the 2003 World Cup, after his preparation had been hampered by injury, but his amazing career took in 51 England appearances and a Lions tour of Australia. Renown for his incredible versatility, Healey had the ability to play in numerous different positions and became known as one of the greatest utility backs of recent time.
Both Greenwood and Healey were part of the England side that enjoyed phenomenal success under Sir Clive Woodward, and now nearly ten years on from England’s World Cup victory, the current side are flourishing in the Six Nations, building on their incredible victory over the All Blacks last autumn.
When asked whether he thought England would win their first Grand Slam since 2003, Greenwood replied: “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to give anyone odds because they’ll take the money. They’re in good shape and it’s a straight shootout in Cardiff. They’ll beat Italy, who could be in for a rough ride, and they’ll go to Cardiff and I just think this England team have the mental strength to win.”
Indeed Greenwood believes that this increased mental strength is one of the factors which differentiates this team from ones from past years, commenting: “The last four games against different sides have asked different questions, and yet they’ve got to the finish line with their noses in front.”
The wise words and advice of Greenwood and Healey can surely only help the development of York’s rugby players, and Ian Packard, the club’s press and publicity officer who organised the video application for the competition commented: “This is the best turnout we’ve ever had. The firsts are going for promotion this year and the whole ethos of the club is really strong. It’s a nice treat for them to have something different like this, and good for the university to have an event such as this to show off the new facilities.” Exciting times lie ahead for UYRUFC, and the presence of these two England rugby legends can only help to spur the club onto success.