Mike Brown interview: Taking on all-comers for England’s coveted No15 jersey

Martyn Thomas 15:19 02/10/2014
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  • Tough man to stop: Brown (c) has developed into England’s most exciting back.

    It’s fair to say Mike Brown is a man who is confident in his own abilities. When asked about how Harlequins’ shaky start to the Aviva Pre- miership season might affect his standing within the England set-up the full-back’s response, if not short, is definitely assured.

    “I’m really happy with the way I’ve performed within a team that maybe hasn’t hit its finest form at the moment,” he tells Sport360°. “I feel my performance levels are consistently high anyway, so I’m just focusing on doing my role for the team as best I can, not focusing on EPS (Elite Player Squad) selection or England games – just trying to work on my game as always.”

    With head coach Stuart Lancaster not naming his EPS until October 22, single-mindedness is a characteristic that should stand Brown in good stead at a time when the likes of Alex Goode and Ben Foden are pressing their own claims in winning sides.

    “I’m my own competition in my head, I’m always trying to push myself. I’ve never found that hard, never had to look to extrinsic things to push me on,” he adds on the current fight for the England full-back berth.

    “But, it’s obviously great for Stuart and the England squad to have competition for all places.”

    It is also a mindset that has helped Brown carve out a career in the Red Rose back three. He had to wait nearly four years between his third and fourth international caps, and once back in the fold had to bide his time as opportunities arrived mainly on the wing.

    That changed on the summer tour of Argentina in 2013, and by the last Six Nations he was England’s nailed-on No15, scoring four tries as he was named player of the tournament.

    Another score came on the trip to New Zealand as Brown started all three Tests and Lancaster’s men flew home having pushed the world champions extremely close in two of those. England’s progression under the former Leeds coach has given the nation’s rugby fans hope that they can dethrone the All Blacks and deliver a home World Cup triumph next autumn.

    “That’s what I’ve worked so hard for over the last couple of years, that’s why I’ve continued to work so hard because I want to play for my country, represent my country and win a World Cup, which is a realistic goal with the squad that we’ve got,” the 29-year-old says.

    “It will be unbelievable. I’ve not yet played in a World Cup so just for that it would be amazing if I can manage to achieve that.

    “It’s the pinnacle of every rugby player’s career to play in the World Cup. It’s great that I’m in a squad that has a realistic chance of winning it and for it to be on our home turf makes it even more special, with our home fans and playing at Twickenham.

    “You can see how it was with the (London) Olympics with our athletes, the affect it had on them and the support that they had; the way the home support got behind those athletes. I think that will be the same here and t’s going to be very exciting and incredible and I hope I can be a part of it.”

    Indeed, Brown believes England’s fans have a unique role to play on the road to 2015.

    “We want to keep connected to them and keep showing them how much it means to us to have their support and how much it means to us to play for England,” he adds. “They have been incredible since I’ve been in the squad over the last couple of years. They are a massive help and if we want to achieve something like the World Cup, we need their help. It definitely is a full England commitment and we need everyone’s support on and off the field.”

    Given the squad’s lofty ambitions, Brown accepts that glorious failure will not be good enough next month, when the All Blacks visit Twickenham, followed by South Africa, Samoa and Australia.

    “Win, obviously win. That’s what we’re in the business for, that’s what we want to do,” is Brown’s forthright response when quizzed on England’s autumn aims.

    “We’ve shown we can beat the best teams in the world on our day like we did against New Zealand (in 2012), and we pushed them close over there in the summer. I think we’ve got some unbelievably talented players, young and old, in the squad now and we’re improving our game every time we meet up.

    “It’s important to win every game, that’s what we’re in the business to do and it gives gives you confidence. That’s why we train hard and work on our individual and team games, that’s what we want to do. We want to win.”

    Before the big boys of international rugby come to town, Brown knows he must concentrate on getting Quins’ season back on track, starting with Saturday’s home game again London Welsh.

    The 2012 Premiership champions have won two of their four games this season, but they were narrow victories over London Irish and Wasps. The other two matches have been humbling defeats to Saracens and Exeter.

    In the most competitive English domestic season in recent memory, many believe that Conor O’Shea’s men are in danger of being left behind. Brown – who took a heavy knock at Sandy Park on Sunday but should be fit to start against Welsh – is honest in his own opinion of the campaign so far.

    He said:“We’ve been through things and had some long, hard chats about moving forward. I think if we’re brutally honest people are going off-page and doing their own thing, not concentrating on their jobs and not concentrating on doing the simple things. You add all that up and that results in errors, and then people start trying too hard and get tense and then you start compounding error on error on error.”

    It’s the sort of straight talking Quins, and indeed England, are going to need plenty of over the next few months.

    FACTFILE

    Born: September 4, 1985
    Position: Full-back / wing
    Club: Harlequins
    Honours: 2011/12 Aviva Premiership, 2010/11 Amlin challenge cup, 2014 Six Nations player of the tournament

    Fight to be England’s No15

    Brown
    Caps (at full-back): 19
    Points: 25 
    Win %: 47.4
    2014-15 club appearances: 4
    2014-15 club points: 0

    Alex Goode
    Caps: 12
    Points: 3
    Win %: 66.7
    2014-15 club appearances: 4
    2014-15 club points: 18

    Ben Foden
    Caps: 28
    Points: 30
    Win %: 64.3
    2014-15 club appearances: 4
    2014-15 club points: 5

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