No more kids play says Tindall
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:47
Mike Tindall has given his teammates an honest and direct explanation of what is expected of them this season and has warned those in the Gloucester change room that if they are unable to do the job they will find people who can.
The Gloucester captain has spoken frankly about the need for his underachiving team to finally deliver a major trophy this season and how they no longer can hide behind the excuse of being a ‘young, developing side.’
Having recently taken over the captaincy role at Kingsholm from Marco Bortolami the new skipper has obviously felt it is time to give his squad a wake-up call and says they should accept they will continually be thought of as Englands ‘also ran’ side until they produce the required results.
"We're going to get tagged as chokers until we prove it wrong,
"We're not a team for the future any more. We have done our growing," Tindall told the Irish Indepenent.
When asked if he thought coach Ryan Dean would be willing to make some changes to the team should they fail to live up to expectation Tindall said: "Without doubt, if we don't deliver."
With the Heineken Cup about to get underway Tindall and his men will have their chance to state their case in Europe’s top competition once again. Gloucester’s last Heineken Cup campaign of note came all the way back in 2001 when they had a semifinal defeat to eventual winners Leicester at Vicarage Road.
This season though, in a relatively easier group than most, with Biarritz, the Cardiff Blues and, Italian side Calvisano for company, Ryan’s men clearly know they need to stand up and be counted.
"We can't get away from the labels people put on us," Tindall added.
"Some people get angry about it. But it's up to us as players to do something about it.
"Dean Ryan [the director of rugby at Gloucester] has not been backward in coming forward as to what might happen if we don't deliver."
To their credit Gloucester have topped the Guinness Premiership League stage three times in the last seven years, often performing above all expectation with, what many labeled, a young and inexperienced side.
Now though, those same players should not be labeled either of those things and therefore obivously feel that they should have greater expectations of what they, as a team, can achieve.
Dean Ryan: "The learning process has got to come to an end at some stage,
"Our problems only seem to materialise when we play at the highest level. We cannot hide behind the fact of being young any more. We have just got to step up."
Gloucester’s Heineken Cup campaign gets started at Kingsholm this weekend against French side Biarritz and England International Tindall says it will be the start that hopefully sets the trend for them to follow.
"If we can perform week-in, week-out, we can win this tournament,
"We've broken our own jinx by winning at Bath this season. We should now be capable of winning things."
