Simon Shaw chases history but dismisses age-old issue

Fighting fit: Simon Shaw shows he's still a force to be reckoned with

10 April 2012

Simon Shaw has hit back at critics obsessed with his advancing years and told his team-mates to write a new piece of London Wasps history by defying the odds and qualifying for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.

The lock said his phone was filled with texts after last week's 20-10 defeat by Glasgow, telling the 37-year-old how his age was all the television commentators could talk about.

Far from being past it, Shaw is on the verge of signing a new 12-month deal and is poised to win a recall to the England XV in place of Courtney Lawes, who will miss the Six Nations with a knee injury.

Shaw won his 61st cap against South Africa in November and his continued presence in the Elite Player Squad suggests that a place in Martin Johnson's party for the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand this autumn is a strong possibility.

"Age isn't an issue for me but it seems to be for everyone else," he said. "Apparently the commentators were badgering on about it. I've got a high pain threshold and I try to keep as fit as I possibly can and do as much during the week to maintain that.

"I feel more than capable of playing for England. Ultimately, that's why Johnno has me in his squad otherwise he wouldn't have picked me. The World Cup is only a few months away and there's no reason why I shouldn't still be playing then. My contract is up at the end of the season and I'm in negotiations. I'd definitely like to play on but I've got to take it year-on-year."

Shaw had hoped to face Toulouse on Sunday with a chance of winning Pool Six but the French have bagged top spot thanks to their 17-3 win over Newport and Wasps' defeat.

The best two group runners-up will progress to the quarter-finals and those slots are currently held by Ulster and Leicester, both of whom are two points better off than Wasps.

If results in Pools Four or Five go Wasps' way, then a big win over Toulouse would see Shaw's men survive. Toulouse still have plenty to play for as a victory would give them a home tie in the next round. If Wasps harbour any hopes of matching the holders at Adams Park, they cannot afford to play like they did against Glasgow.
Wasps lost too many balls in contact, were bested at the line-out and failed to match the Scottish side's physicality.

Shaw is in no doubt of where the display ranks among his 13 years at the club. "From our perspective it was probably one of our worst performances ever," he said.

"I felt massively frustrated but now the task ahead is pretty simple - we've got to win, and win well, if we've got absolutely any chance. There's no use of going in thinking the gods haven't been with us and we haven't got a hope. We've got to do our job first and stop hoping for other things to go our way."

Wasps famously beat Toulouse 27-20 in the 2004 Heineken Cup Final thanks to a freak late try by Rob Howley.

Shaw, Joe Worsley, Mark van Gisbergen, Tim Payne and Richard Birkett are the only playing survivors from that day at Twickenham. Yet he insists that rather than acting as a source of inspiration, Wasps' successful past is a distraction for a mostly new crop of players desperate for success.

"There's a pressure on this group to create their own bit of history," added Shaw. "I don't think they're necessarily looking back and saying 'look what they did' but they want to achieve something in their own right. It's not about what the 2004 side did.

"These guys want to separate themselves. Not because they're not proud of what we achieved in the past but because they want to create something of their own. And I'm the same - I want to do it again with a different group of guys."

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Simon Shaw chases history but dismisses age-old issue

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