Robinson: 'Thanks for the memories'
Sat, 01 Dec 2007 20:50
England's star back Jason Robinson, who gave the Twickenham crowd a few more moments to remember him by in his penultimate match before retirement, described the Barbarians' 22-5 win over world champions South Africa on Saturday as the perfect send-off. Robinson will bow out of competitive rugby for good after a testimonial match with Sale next year. The most successful cross-code player of all time, Robinson made his 538th appearance with his 17-year professional career. Known for his fleet-footed attacking play, Robinson, a Great Britain Rugby League international before becoming an England wing and fullback, showed glimpses of his old form early in the match. It was heartening for the Twickenham crowd of more than 58,000 after Robinson's last appearance, in England's 6-15 World Cup Final defeat against the Springboks in Paris on October 20, ended with him going off in the second half with a shoulder injury. But it was a piece of side-stepping skill on the stroke of half-time, which helped set up the Barbarians' second try for Martyn Williams, that was truly typical of Robinson's 16-year dual-code career. Prop CJ van der Linde and wing Akona Ndungane, as had happened to so many players before them, were unable to lay a hand on him. Then scrum-half Ricky Januarie and number eight Ryan Kankowski also failed to stop Robinson's progress as the crowd roared their approval before Williams took the move on. Several other trademark jinking runs were also greeted with rapturous applause by the Twickenham crowd and Robinson admitted it was an emotional farewell. "It was a great atmosphere today and I thought it was a fantastic match. The crowd were great," Robinson said. "They will go home happy and I'll go home happy too. It was a great way to finish. "I've had a wonderful career and I've gone from one good thing to another. Now I've finished on a high. "We won the last game I've played in and I'll take some wonderful memories away with me. "If I could have written a script it wouldn't have been as good as this. It's been fantastic." Robinson revealed that he had shared a joke with Barbarians team-mate and former Wallaby second row forward Justin Harrison when he was substituted in the 68th minute. The exchange came as a result of an incident that occurred shortly before the teams ran on to the pitch. Robinson said: "Justin started being sick in the changing rooms. When I see someone being sick I have to be sick, so I was. "Just before we left the changing room the same thing happened - Justin was sick again and then I was too. "I was praying it wouldn't be like that when we got onto the pitch. We were laughing about that when I came off." Although Robinson didn't score a try himself on Saturday, having been on the losing side against the Springboks three times this year, he was not complaining. "My last game was against a magnificent team, a world champion team," he said. "It's a great way to finish," said Robinson. Robinson said he would not be taking up a coaching position in either league or union. "Coaching at a higher level, no chance. Most of the coaches I know are bald. My knowledge of the game is not that good," Robinson said. "It will be nice to reflect after 15, 16 years playing at this level, maybe over the next 12 months." Asked for his best memory of his playing days, Robinson replied: "The biggest thing is the 2003 World Cup. I had a wonderful career in League and when I came to union it just got better."
