Saturday, February 26, 2011
Exclusive interviews with Shontayne Hape and Tom Wood
Hape, the former Bradford Bulls and New Zealand Rugby League player, is now a full fledged England player, having been in the country for long enough to call it home. He has recently signed for London Irish from Bath, where he switched to Rugby Union in 2008.
In this video he answers some of the questions you posed to him on the RD Facebook page, as well as a few others that we thought might be of interest.
As a bonus we were able to chat with up and coming young flanker Tom Wood, who had an excellent debut against Wales a few weeks back. Powerfully built and able to slot in the back or second row, Wood will provide England with line out options as well.
He'll start today and in this interesting chat he spoke about what it's like to blend in while in camp, what he thinks about coaches winding up players, and what he most looks forward to come kick off on match day.
To get the inside scoop on the England squad, as well as fun features, match analysis and up to the minute player interviews with presenters Austin Healey and Abi Griffiths, sign up for alerts and watch O2 Inside Line on RFU TV at O2InsideLine.com
Thanks to Nick Heath for the great interviews, and Lloyd Morgan for the video production.
Posted at 9:54 am | 22 comments
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Viewing 22 comments
Anonymous February 26, 2011 11:38 am
two words paint drying
they are so media trained now its like there reading from a book what happend to the old fashioned we gunna stick up um
they are so media trained now its like there reading from a book what happend to the old fashioned we gunna stick up um
Anonymous February 26, 2011 2:00 pm
Hape signed for London Irish. Top bloke.
Funny mistake re back row on Woods interview ha!
Funny mistake re back row on Woods interview ha!
Rob February 26, 2011 3:56 pm
Hape really did not want to answer the 'why move to London Irish' question did he...
Eng Fan February 26, 2011 4:34 pm
Just heard on the BBC that it may be several months before businesses open again in Christchurch.
Im not trying to do the whole 'will it be ready for the RWC' because ofcourse that is the last thing on my and everyones mind, but I hope they get everything sorted for their sake. or even if it gets delayed, only because whilst its a great tournament its also got to be great for tourism/merchandise sales and just general business.
Thoughts are with all those over there. I hope there are some survivors found. they still find some after a week in other places dont they?
Im not trying to do the whole 'will it be ready for the RWC' because ofcourse that is the last thing on my and everyones mind, but I hope they get everything sorted for their sake. or even if it gets delayed, only because whilst its a great tournament its also got to be great for tourism/merchandise sales and just general business.
Thoughts are with all those over there. I hope there are some survivors found. they still find some after a week in other places dont they?
Anonymous February 26, 2011 4:53 pm
I still cant get my head around the name Shontayne Happy (I know its Hape) does anyone else wish he'd just get everyone to pronounce it hayp.
i mean happy just sounds like such an odd name...it kind of pisses me off...
i mean happy just sounds like such an odd name...it kind of pisses me off...
Laz February 26, 2011 7:39 pm
I would have thought it's pronounced 'Haar-pay', not 'Happy'.
Not a great performance from the backs today. Hape and Tindall were a bit scrappy. Good win though nevertheless.
Not a great performance from the backs today. Hape and Tindall were a bit scrappy. Good win though nevertheless.
Sam February 26, 2011 9:32 pm
I thought it was hideous from the backs. The amount of dropped balls and just general miscommunication makes me think its lucky the game wasn't in France otherwise england would have got a right drubbing!!!
(obviously my assumption is France would play better at home...)
I thought Italy showed real promise today, it was a shame they couldn't pull off a win. They need a kicker really.
(obviously my assumption is France would play better at home...)
I thought Italy showed real promise today, it was a shame they couldn't pull off a win. They need a kicker really.
Anonymous February 26, 2011 10:12 pm
England had 2 tries wrongfully disallowed. Despite the sloppy handling and passing they'd have won easily with a competent ref.
RedYeti February 27, 2011 12:15 am
@Anonymous, I was at the game sitting exactly in line with Flood's pass to Youngs, and it was definitely forward, as much as I wanted Ashton's dive to count. Wasn't so sure about Tindall's disallowed try, and Ashton blew a sure try too, so I guess we had a lot more chances than France's one (Rougerie's drop over the line). That said if he had scored that and that penalty hadn't hit the post we would have tied, which is scary. England dominated the second half though and probably deserved the victory, but we weren't that hard done by by the ref... (except for France being offside at every other ruck forcing handling errors with pressure)
Sam February 27, 2011 2:16 am
'Anonymous said...
Seriously fuck all these england player interviews, there are other teams.'
Possibly the first negative pointless comment we have had in a while. Glad we managed to keep it up with the positive comments for the last 2 days...
I agree with Redyeti, the pass was definately forward. as he said im unsure about tindalls try (notry) luckily it had no weighting on the outcome though....
as said earlier, (above) the game wasnt enjoyable for me...I got far more enjoyment/excitement from the Italy Wales game where I was gunning for Italy to win!!!
Seriously fuck all these england player interviews, there are other teams.'
Possibly the first negative pointless comment we have had in a while. Glad we managed to keep it up with the positive comments for the last 2 days...
I agree with Redyeti, the pass was definately forward. as he said im unsure about tindalls try (notry) luckily it had no weighting on the outcome though....
as said earlier, (above) the game wasnt enjoyable for me...I got far more enjoyment/excitement from the Italy Wales game where I was gunning for Italy to win!!!
Anonymous February 27, 2011 10:19 am
yea there are other teams but england are looking the best at the moment im pretty sure that in years gone by the media has focused on the teams with the best form
RD February 27, 2011 10:37 am
No it's not that. It's actually because we have access to the England team, a media guy, and a video production guy.
If anyone has the same in other big rugby countries, feel free to get in touch and we can do the same there.
I also thought some of you might be interested in the Kiwi playing for England.
If anyone has the same in other big rugby countries, feel free to get in touch and we can do the same there.
I also thought some of you might be interested in the Kiwi playing for England.
Leeners93 February 27, 2011 7:32 pm
tbh,i'm sure if hape could've played for new zealand he would've.but they didn't come calling and england did,so,easy choice really
Leeners93 February 27, 2011 7:33 pm
oh yeah,his name is tom wood not tom woods
Alex February 27, 2011 11:47 pm
Hape(pronounced Harr-pear)is a great player and IMO holds the backline together with his solid crashballs and hard aggressive tackling which intimidates the opposition midfield. A very underrated player.
Also, how do the English feel about having a New Zealander playing for their national side?
Also, how do the English feel about having a New Zealander playing for their national side?
Phil Gray February 28, 2011 12:16 am
@Rugby Dump - keep up the good work. The England access is quality and if any other teams can offer it then great. Gives a much better take on the games this Six Nations and like the mix between interviews and other vids.
Keep it up RD.
Cheers
Phil
Keep it up RD.
Cheers
Phil
Anonymous March 03, 2011 5:15 pm
Why England & not the All Blacks heres 2 huge reasons Ma'a Nonu & Sonny Bill Williams & 3 more Luke McAllister, Jeremy Stanley & Tana Umaga. Would Martin Johnson pick any of those guys ahead of him in the England side? Im sure he would consider it but the fact remains Shontayne Hape wouldn't get in the All Blacks ahead of that line of players. Hes playing well for Englands style of rugby.
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