MY professional career has now come to an end and I look back with nothing but fond memories and joy and pride. I would have played for Wasps for free, I bloody loved it. How many other jobs and careers do you get to perform and entertain and get the respect and adoration of fans? As a 21-year-old, what a privilege it is that you can make grown men and women smile. I loved the buzz you got from a crowd. Some games against the French, late at night, it felt like the whole town had come to shout you down. But I did love Adams Park when it was rocking, and I don’t think any other ground in the Premiership could touch the Ricoh when it was packed out.
To be honest, I don’t think we ever fulfilled our potential at Wasps. If you look at the team we had, we should have won at least one piece of silverware. Maybe we missed a little bit of a winner’s mentality, a killer instinct, to drag ourselves over the line in big matches. Joe Launchbury is hands down, the best captain I’ve ever had, and if anyone deserved to lift a trophy, it’s him. Hask (James Haskell) was a great captain as well.