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Quinnell's English comeback Posted: Wednesday June 26, 2002 9:18 AM
One of Wales' biggest stars, Craig Quinnell, has decided to play his club rugby in England, for Saracens. Rugby World went to find out why. IT may seem like a lifetime away but it was, in fact, merely four years ago that Craig Quinnell was rampaging through the Zurich Premiership alongside his elder brother Scott in the colours of Richmond. Remember Richmond? Craig Quinnell certainly does, and it is partly the fond memories of his successful spell at the club that bombed out of professional rugby that have persuaded him to dip his toe into English waters once more. Next season he will be terrorizing the Premiership again, this time with Saracens, after a move that represents a huge challenge and the chance to kick-start his career after three years of horrendous injury. "I like a change and I like a challenge, and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to playing for Saracens," is how the 26-year-old sees it. Cast your mind back and you may recall the younger of the two man-mountains otherwise known as the Quinnell brothers playing for a Richmond side who beat Newcastle to the second division championship, then finished fourth in the top flight and reached the semifinals of the Tetley's Bitter Cup. "They were happy times," Craig recalls, sitting in the Cardiff rugby club bar in the shadow of the Millennium Stadium for the last time before setting off for north London. "We had a great team -- players like Ben Clarke, Allan Bateman, Simon Mason. We were successful, and I had a flat overlooking the Thames at Shepperton. I loved living in London." Then the plug was pulled on Richmond when Ashley Levitt became the first of professional rugby's sugar daddies to withdraw his cash. Quinnell's services were quickly required by Cardiff which, to the Welsh public, seemed odd for a member of a family with Llanelli in their blood. "Actually, it wasn't the problem people thought it would be," Craig explains. "I know my uncle, father and brother played for the Scarlets, as I did before I moved to Richmond, but don't forget my uncle [a certain Barry John] also played for Cardiff too. Back then my mother, as a woman, couldn't even go into the clubhouse to enjoy a match featuring her brother. When I played for Cardiff I remember her being overjoyed when she sat in the committee box on a chair that had her name on it." Back then, Craig had made a name for himself on the international stage, in tandem with his brother. The Quinnells were at the forefront of the initial success that stemmed from the arrival of Graham Henry, and Wales swept all before them. Craig was even seen popping up on the wing to score a decisive try in Paris during that successful second half of the 1998-99 season. Then the injuries began to pile up, injuries that would have halted most men in their tracks. The first was the most serious of all. "I broke my back," is how Craig puts it. "I think I did it during the World Cup, but I only really noticed it after we were hammered at Twickenham in 2000. I'd smashed a vertebra in the lower half of my spine and was out for eight months. I was told it was most definitely a career-threatening injury." Typically, Quinnell came back three months ahead of schedule, played 11 games for Cardiff, and then suffered a second horrific injury. "I was playing away at Edinburgh for Cardiff when I got my face smashed in." He tells you this in a matter of fact way, the "smashed in" description referring to a clash with an opponent's head that left him with six fractures to the side of his face. "I'd already been sin-binned when the accidental clash occurred," he recalls. "The ref told me to leave the field. I argued with him, saying that it was an accident and I'll always remember the ref retorting, 'No, you misunderstand me. You've got to go off because you have a huge dent in your face'." The huge dent required two metal plates and six pins to mend it. Three weeks later he was back playing for Cardiff and he was able to tour Japan last summer with Wales. "The career had not really advanced from the World Cup because it had been so stop and start due to injuries," he explains. Quinnell then made it to the bench for the belated Irish Six Nations defeat in Cardiff, played in the home loss to Argentina, but was subsequently dropped for the remaining two autumn Tests against Tonga and Australia. "The lineout was poor against Argentina and I got the blame, although the ball was only thrown to me once in the first half and I caught it!" Things looked up when he started the 2002 Six Nations in the Welsh first-choice XV in Dublin, and then at home to France, where he scored a try. "I was very happy with my form during the early part of this year's Six Nations," he says. At least, that is, until he then snapped his posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in a training ground accident. "That injury was heart-breaking for me after everything else that had happened. I was out for two more months and it summed up the time I've had since playing for Cardiff. I've loved playing for the club, but it's been so frustrating having to keep picking myself up from the floor each time. I've got 32 caps, and I reckon I would have reached my half-century if it wasn't for all the enforced breaks in my career." It also provoked an extraordinary reaction on the days Wales played their Internationals without Quinnell, junior. "I can't watch them, neither at the stadium nor on television," he says. "I have to leave the country for the weekend, often going to France." Then there is his brother, Scott. "It was particularly hard not to be playing when Scott was captain," he continues. "It would have been nice to have been there for Scott, alongside him in the thick of the action. I found it especially hard when he led Wales out and won his 50th cap at Twickenham this year, only then to be hammered by England. I love playing rugby with him, and it's very comforting to know that someone's taking a personal interest in watching out for you in the game." So what now? With his injuries, is Craig Quinnell really a sound investment for Saracens? "Without a doubt," is the reply. "I'm not injury-prone. I've had a few over the past couple of years, but I'm always back quicker than expected. I play hard and passionately, and if you removed that from my game it would hardly be worth playing." What about the temperament? Does he have a bit of a problem here? "No," comes back the answer within a split second. "I know what you're saying, but the truth is I've never received a red card in my whole career, and I'd wager I've received no more yellow cards than other lock forwards in the country. I've sat in the naughty corner a couple of times at Cardiff -- I was sin-binned for punching a Montferrand player, but that was only after he had elbowed me in the face -- but in general it's not been too bad. Look at the games against Ireland and France. I didn't give away a single penalty." Having not been picked to tour South Africa with Wales because he has played only three games since his knee injury, Quinnell is relishing the rare opportunity to make the most of the summer. "I started pre-season training two days after my last game for Cardiff," he says. "It's a great chance to be in the best shape of my life by the time Saracens tour Japan in August. Steve Hansen [the Welsh coach] has told me to get myself right over the summer, and all I'm going to concentrate on is doing the business for Saracens. That means earning the right to wear their No 4 shirt. Only once I'm playing well for Saracens can I even think about the autumn Internationals for Wales. "Ultimately I'd love to go on and win 50 caps and play in the World Cup. I am only 26 and I firmly believe my best rugby is to come, but first I've got to make it work with Sarries. I'm confident I will."
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