Tom Croft vows to keep cool in heat of battle after shock call

Chris Jones
18 Jun 2009

Tom Croft has admitted his meteoric rise to Lions Test player would put him under enormous pressure but vowed not to “freak out” in the build-up to the First Test with South Africa in Durban.

Croft was deemed surplus to requirements when coach Ian McGeechan first announced his squad for the three-match series, despite having an outstanding season for Guinness Premiership champions Leicester Tigers.

He was only added as a late replacement once Munster flanker Alan Quinlan's stray fingers led to the Irishman being banned for gouging before the party left for the southern hemisphere.

His original omission was one of the more mystifying decisions by McGeechan, who did admit the 23-year-old's name was the last to be removed from the list.

Quinlan's misdemeanour allowed Croft to realise his rugby dream and it's one he is determined won't become a nightmare.

He said: “I have to get my head right and not try to build things up too much or I will freak myself out. I will speak to the senior players who know what it's like to play in a Lions Test and I have already been told not to start thinking about it too early.

“It all seems to have come along so quickly and, to be honest, I thought playing for the Lions was meant to happen when you were 25 or 26-years-old! But I'm ready for this challenge.”

Croft has only played 13 times for England but had a storming finish to the domestic season, helping Leicester to win the play-off final 10-9 over London Irish at Twickenham before suffering the disappointment of losing to Leinster in the Heineken Cup final.

He has continued that outstanding form on this tour and his line out expertise was impossible to ignore, as it causes problems for the opposition and creates try-scoring opportunities in attack.

Croft also revealed that when he was originally ignored he sought advice from Martin Corry, Leicester's former England captain, who was called up as a replacement for the 2001 Lions tour to Australia and still ended up playing in the Test series.

He added: “Martin had also been told in 2001 to keep working hard because players do get injured and I hadn't realised there is a tradition of people being called up during the tour.

“Leicester was probably the best club I could have been at when the news came that I wasn't in the squad because we had huge games coming up and that was my only focus.

“I have had a message from [England team manager] Martin Johnson wishing me good luck and all the Leicester boys have been sending me texts during the tour. I am sure Johnno will give me another call and tell me to keep my head down and focus on my job.

“When I was included, I just tried to make an impact and put myself in the frame for selection.”

Croft has a key role to play at the break down, where Heinrich Brussow, who gave the Lions a torrid time in the Cheetahs game, will be playing No7 for South Africa. Croft knows the Lions have to be combative in this area to negate Brussow's work but also has line-out duties to perform in what will be a unique atmosphere.

He added: “Everything is more intense compared to anything I have experienced but I am not worried about Kings Park being a hostile environment.

“That kind of noise gets me going and while there will be a lot of Boks fans, we have seen thousands of Lions supporters arriving and they can make it feel like a home game for us.

“I have tried to work hard on the physical side of my game and it's always an area where I can improve.”