Breaking News: Dowson has no fear on eve of England debut
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England rookie Phil Dowson says the fire and brimstone of a Calcutta Cup holds no fears for him after so many years of trying to reach this stage.
At the age of 30 Dowson is set to make his England debut after almost a decade of knock-backs and disappointments.
To his credit Dowson has never grumbled publicly about the almost cruel treatment he has been handed by successive England coaches.
An almost permanent fixture in the Saxons squad, Dowson has taken on board endless talks from England on what he needs to work on, but now he has made it and he is not about to let the chance go to waste.
An intimidating atmosphere plus a fired up Scotland side awaits, something that doesn’t worry Dowson, even though he has played just a handful of games at No. 8 in his three years at Saints.
He said: “Because it has been such a long-standing ambition for me and such a struggle getting there, it’s not a massive issue for me.
“I’ve always tried to get here but there’s always been a huge amount of talent in the back row, so it’s been tough. I’ve tried to use the experience of not being picked as motivation to get here and it’s finally paid off.
“I want to make sure I seize that opportunity and relish it. The England coaches would always speak to me and say: ‘These are the strengths and weaknesses of your game and this is the pecking order’. That’s something you’ve got to deal with. The ambition was always to get here and one of the routes was the Saxons.”
After being part of the Saxons and playing in a non-cap game against New Zealand Moari under Martin Johnson, Dowson admitted it was a hammer blow that he was not even part of the World Cup training squad.
The first person he phoned after being told he was starting was his sister and he admitted his family had helped him through that difficult period
“It was a huge disappointment,” said Dowson. “But the advice I was getting from family, friends and club coaches was: ‘Keep trying your hardest, keep knocking on the door and, hopefully, it’ll open’.”
Finally it has.
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