Robolock's rugged reputation precedes him

By DAVID LEGGAT

Danny Grewcock's previous visit to Carisbrook lasted just half an hour.

It was 1998, the Tour from Hell, England C against the All Blacks, the first of two one-sided tests.

The All Blacks won 64-22 but so far as the rugged Bath lock was concerned, it was all over by halftime. Indeed, Grewcock did not even make it to the interval, before he was ordered off by referee Wayne Erickson for kicking All Black hooker Anton Oliver in the head.

Grewcock, who copped a five-week ban for his footwork, doubled the number of England players sent off in a test, following prop Mike Burton against Australia in 1975.

It's not a topic the brooding hardman of the pack likes to discuss. He does have the odd other black spot on his CV, including being sent off for hitting the Wasps No 8 in last year's English Challenge Cup final.

The Wasps No 8? None other than his captain at Carisbrook today, Lawrence Dallaglio.

Then there was a five-week ban, quashed on appeal, for kicking Saracens halfback Kyran Bracken in September 2002. Although he was exonerated, the initial dismissal could not help but add to the overall picture of a player with a red-mist problem.

His 2003 two-week ban cost him a trip Downunder last year for the tests in Wellington and against Australia. Those wins laid the platform for England's ultimately successful World Cup campaign. Grewcock was at the cup but broke a bone in his hand against Uruguay and was gone before the knockout phase.

He was back for the Six Nations championship this year, playing four of the five games and now looms as a key figure in an England pack shorn of the iconic Martin Johnson.

Johnson cast a long shadow over all things England in the past few years. But any idea that with his long shadow gone the weight of responsibility on Grewcock's shoulders has got heavier is wrong, according to the man himself.

In fact, mention stepping into the size 12s of England's most celebrated rugby captain is likely to draw a slightly tetchy reaction. That is at least in part born out of respect for the player who, uniquely, has led the Lions to a series win in South Africa, and England to World Cup glory.

"I appreciate he was an awesome player and I'm happy to say I played alongside him and in teams he captained," Grewcock said.

"Pretty much any English player is going to struggle to replicate that.

"Then again, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it."

Pressed, he conceded there was no way he was going to be a perfect-fit replacement for Johnson.

"I want to play as well as I can, do everything I possibly can.

"There's greats in every sport. I'm sure every basketball player would like to be [Michael] Jordan.

"But there's some things I'm not going to be able to do that he did. That's life, isn't it."

Grewcock, dubbed "Robolock" by his club Bath, which he captains, prefers to describe the future as "a great opportunity, but equally it's massively competitive".

"The pressure on myself and [tonight's locking partner] Simon Shaw is still the same. You have to play well to be involved the following week."

His Bath clubmate, Steve Borthwick, with 10 caps, is waiting in the wings. Shaw plays his 26th test tonight and, at a whopping 2.05m and 120kg, will be the biggest player on the park.

Chris Jones, at 1.98m, is at blindside flanker tonight. Taking into account his locking experience at his club Sale, which makes him another longer-term contender, it ensures the battle for Nos 4 and 5 in the coming year will be fascinating.

It also means lineout possession should not be a major issue for England at Carisbrook.

Bath assistant coach, former Australian hooker Michael Foley, has high praise for his captain, and also adds another piece to the puzzle of how Grewcock ticks.

"Seriously, I've never come across a player who prepares as meticulously," Foley said. "Everything he does, he does to the best of his ability. He's quiet, intense. He doesn't waste a lot of words and he won't waffle."

Just what England need tonight.

DANNY GREWCOCK

Born: November 7, 1972, Coventry

Height: 1.98m

Weight: 117kg

Position: Lock

Club: Bath

Test debut: v Argentina, 1997

Test caps: 47

Test points: 10

Lions caps: 3 (v Australia 2001)