But youвЂ™ll know when to take the ball to the line because thatвЂ™s what you do.вЂќДЄt that stage, every game was the biggest of my life. When the ball comes to you, there are only ever two decisions to make. So, he knew about these finesses.ДЇor example, when I moved to full-back I hadnвЂ™t played there a great deal. As well as being a defensive technician, he was a brilliant ball-player himself. That might sound mundane, but it was about developing a feel.

HeвЂ™d shout whether it was slow, medium or quick ball and which post I should hit with passes or whether I should run. We would go out on the field and he would play scrum-half, hitting me with passes. In my early years at Wasps I would come in on days off to do one-on-ones with Shaun. In the heat of battle, when the biggest games of the season are on the line, that emotional intelligence stays with him. He is clinical and there is this complete toughness to him, but there is also empathy there. He has a ridiculous set of winnersвЂ™ medals as a player and a coach. You canвЂ™t be fooled by the accent or the fact that he looks like he could start a fight at any second. He reads an awful lot, he spends time out with like-minded people. I think: вЂJeez, they looked after themselves.вЂ™ And they did that for the common good, to win games and trophies as a team. At 19, you donвЂ™t appreciate how hard it is to keep up. They were in incredibleВ nick as senior players. ItвЂ™s only when I look back now that I think about the shape some of those guys were in during their thirties, people like Mark van Gisbergen as well as Fraser, Lawrence and Josh. Josh Lewsey set phenomenal standards as far as his personal conditioning. Fraser Waters was great at picking you up.

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