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| 11 February 2004, 4:09 pm |
| Last Words From Budge |
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Some of Budge's thoughts on his injury, retirement and his career from a press conference held at Franklin's Gardens today:
On learning about the extent of his injury:
"I have not played a competitive game for almost a year now. You always go through the worst and best of scenarios with injuries, so I half prepared myself for the worst scenario. It is just one of those things unfortunately."
On how other people reacted:
"I think I was more prepared for the news than most people. It is just a phase in my life that has come to an end. It is a bit of an abrupt end. I thought I had a few more years left to be honest."
On what happens next with the injury:
"The fact is I am still walking with pain. I will go in and have another operation to have the metalwork taken out and have a bit of a clean out. Then hopefully I will have a normal way of life. If you were to see me hobbling around the house, it does not look particularly good at the age of 30. I would like to be able to run again. I want to run alongside my dogs rather than try to catch up with them...slowly."
On his favourite memories;
"My favourite moments of my career were...my first game here. If you ask any of the younger players who have just started out, like Brett McNamee and Andy Vilk who got on at the weekend, they will tell you it's a real proud moment. The Heineken Cup final was a fantastic memory and beating London Irish in the Powergen Cup semi last year. For me, to play in that game was something special and the way the players performed was special too."
On his worst memories:
"The worst memories were the losing cup finals. No-one remembers second place. I am still really disappointed about those three finals. That will always anger me, but winning the European Cup overrides those memories."
On the 1999/2000 season:
"I was on toast by the end of the Heineken Cup winning season. We had the World Cup, then league games, then the Six Nations - and that was the year we won against England on that rainy day - and immediately after that game we played in the semi-final, then we still had to qualify for the European Cup at Newcastle the week before the final. I remember Nick Beal getting badly injured at Saracens and Daws popping his shoulder in Reading - we were a team that was patched up."
On who his influences were:
"Among the people I should thank is Dave Palethorpe, who was fantastic to me. I owe him for all these memories because he brought me here. I should also thank my dad, for teaching me how to play rugby, my mum, my wife - all those people who are close to me - as well as all the coaches I have had here."
On coaching and the future:
"I have really enjoyed my time with Wellingborough. I have not been able to do as much as I wanted because of the ankle, but I have enjoyed it. It's just good fun. I would love to stay in the game. It's a great place to work - the rugby environment is fantastic." |
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