Wasps to release the Rhino

13 April 2012

The television interviewer was trying to get John Rudd to talk him through the way he - a mere youngster - had blasted past two highly-respected internationals to score the most important try of the match.

"So, when you get that close to the line you're unstoppable, aren't you?" he prompted.

Rudd began to smile in agreement. But, before he could speak, his fellow London Wasps wing Kenny Logan said: "He's pretty unstoppable from anywhere, actually!"

The try being shown on the monitor in front of them was from the first minute of the second half of Wasps' 35-22 Parker Pen Challenge Cup quarter-final first-leg victory against Stade Francais last Sunday.

Rudd, a 21-year old product of Campion School, Hornchurch, and the Wasps youth system, had just made only his sixth senior start and would have been an unknown quantity to the French club.

However, after the way Rudd brushed off the initial challenge of Stephane Glas, the former France centre, before finding the gas to beat Ignatio Corleto, the Argentina full-back, Stade now know all about him for the second leg tomorrow in Paris.

At almost 17st, and standing 6ft 2in, Rudd has the pace and power to more than live up to his nickname of 'Rhino'.

"Despite his build, John's one of the quickest players in our squad over 15 or 20 metres," said Warren Gatland, the Wasps director of rugby. "He has a lot of work to do on his all-round skill levels, but he's moving forward quickly in terms of his development, and we have high hopes for him.

"Injuries to more senior players have given John his opportunity, but I'd say he's now in the starting line-up on merit."

For Rudd, the past three weeks have been the stuff of dreams.

"First it was Leicester just after Christmas, then Gloucester and now two matches against Stade Francais," he said. "To play in massive games like these is just brilliant for me, especially as my goal this season was only to get a few starts in the first team and to put pressure on the guys ahead of me.

"But I've been training hard and scoring a lot of tries for the second team. I've even played a couple of games in the centre for them, although wing is my specialist position.

"The past few weeks have been a big step up for me, but I was really pleased to be able to score a try like that at such a key stage of the game against Stade. I'm looking forward to going over to play them again in Paris, which will be another new experience for me. We've got to go there aiming to win, though, and not just trying to protect our lead."

Wasps expect captain Lawrence Dallaglio and scrum-half Rob Howley to both be fit for a game which could define the club's season. An aggregate win over Stade would earn Wasps a semi-final tie against either Pontypridd or Connacht in a competition which carries the coveted prize of automatic Heineken Cup qualification for next season.

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Wasps to release the Rhino

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