PRIDE IN THIS SQUAD
“These boys are a special group. They had to drink deep from the well today and not converting some of that pressure into points could have easily led into frustration and start to overreach. But they didn’t, they stuck to task and George Ford drove that. That’s why he was man of the match. He was a pocket of calm amid the chaos.
“You need to be physically up to the task, you have to man up, you need a heart, you have really got to want it. Then off the back of both of those things someone to make some calm, considered decisions on the field, steer the ship. That is hard when you are looking to punch holes in a good defence. All three aspects the players showed today, that’s what I am proud of. I am so proud of how they stuck at it and just got better at the basics as the game went on.”
BEN CURRY INJURY LATEST
“It’s tough to tell. The first 24 hours are tough. He will get a scan tomorrow. He is on crutches and he got stretchered off. He’s such a key player for us and a tough player, so he wouldn’t have gone off on a stretcher if he wasn’t badly injured. It’s a hamstring. We will see tomorrow, but I doubt if he will make the final.”
PHYSICAL ENCOUNTER
“We had to wear a lot of bruises and we knew we would have to. I could see Jonny Hill dry-retching, he was that tired. I have never seen Tom Curry look so tired
‘These are British and Irish Lions. It should how the deep they had to drink from the well. They ran their blood to water. I am so proud of that. What more can you ask for? We have got to do it again and more.”
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OCCASION AND BEING NORTHERN
“I was blinded by stress but every now and again I turned around and you could hear it. It was mega, buzzing, noisy. You need occasions and moments like this so people come back, want to start playing and get involved. My job is to get them to perform and play well at the weekend, that’s my first priority. But there are many different hats to wear and I am so proud of that fact that potentially our reach in the north is expanding because bigger crowds are coming in and the buzz is bigger. It’s certainly a humbling addition to the role in that maybe you are inspiring a young lad to pick up a ball.
“It matters being northern. Imagine a scenario where players actually played for the shirt, badge and area. It has gone out of the game. Where’s the north? I remember the North playing New Zealand when I was a kid! The north is here and it is in Newcastle. Right now we are flying the flag so I am super proud for that. I can’t talk too much about it because I start to cry and get too emotional. I have been parking that and focusing on process. To come home and come to this team I played for and captained, my brother played for and my dad played against it’s a bit of a dream. Then I remind myself that dreams and fairy-tales generally don’t come true.”
TAKING ON HIS FORMER EMPLOYERS SARACENS IN THE FINAL
“I think it did a year or two ago, less so now. I spent the major part of my life down there with those guys at Saracens and there’s no-one you are more competitive with than the ones you love, so there’s that there on a personal level. But I am so engrained in this here in my home town that it feels like I have been here forever. How long does the mind hold on to memories. In that regard it will always be there but this is my home. It adds a little bit more spice. Everyone is beatable. We have beaten them (Saracens). I have heard they want us as they feel they let a 20 point lead slip here a few months back. We want them.”
BUILDING SOMETHING SPECIAL AT THE CLUB
“I think it’s a start. That’s how we have to view it. We have to continue to get investment, pump resources in to provide the environment where good players like George want to come back or Jonny Hill, who’s northern. Simon McIntyre and Tommy Taylor as well. All these players who have gone to other clubs for a bit more money, now they want to come back to the north. I know Ged Mason and Simon and Michelle Orange are committed. I have asked them, they are in it for the long haul. They have written the club into their will so Simon can continue driving his racing cars! It feels like the start for me and I am pumped but I will think about the future post two weeks’ time. We have got a job to do before then.”
Thanks Kieran again.