Heineken Cup / Ralph Ellis / 30 April 2009 / Leave a comment

Manchester United aren't the only team chasing a League and European Cup double. Leicester go to the Millennium Stadium on Sunday to face Cardiff in the Heineken Cup semi-final with exactly the same objective in rugby union. Betfair went to meet Kiwi star Scott Hamilton to see if the Tigers were ready to roar...

They reckon 50,000 in the Millennium Stadium - this must be the sort of thing you came to England for?

Absolutely. I've never been there before so it will be totally new for me. I've seen it on TV, of course, and it looks awesome. I'm really looking forward to it and hope the track is in good order and the weather not too bad. New Zealand's not that big a population so our ground in Canterbury held only 36,500. The biggest stadium I've played in was probably in South Africa where the noise was phenomenal, and the best the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane which was built totally for rugby and holds about 55,000. This will be right up with that.

Does that inspire you?

Of course, because when you're growing up that's where you want to play. The tradition was of Cardiff Arms Park and I've been there, and there was also Twickenham where I managed to get a run against Harlequins earlier on. It's great to say I've played there, and hopefully we can win this weekend and then I can tick Murrayfield off as well!

So do your fancy your chances of doing that?

Yeah, you'd like to think so - obviously the boys are really looking forward to it. It's been a good second half of the season for us, there's now massive media interest as well and that gets everyone going, everyone's really excited and you know we are only one step away from the big dance so that in itself is great

What attracted you to Leicester?

Well, if I'm honest I didn't know too much about European rugby. I took a bit of interest, I knew Leicester and maybe Wasps were always up there and blah, blah, blah, but didn't really know much about who the players were. But when I began to talk about coming to Europe I felt I'd been pretty successful playing for Canterbury and Crusaders and I didn't want to go to a team that was struggling. I wanted to go to a club that would be winning and I've been really happy with the way things have been going here. Winning equals happiness in my book.

How does the standard of the Guinness Premiership compare to where you were playing in New Zealand?

It took me time to get used to the difference. I've come from Super 14 and the new rules they've been playing down there, which are probably going to get cut I know, but the game is a lot quicker than over here and the fitness levels back home are quite a lot higher. Here it is a different game, but I have got used to it now. Our game plan has changed a bit in the last couple of months and that has suited me as well, and I feel a lot more at home. It's now very similar to what we had at Crusaders, not necessarily relying on individuals but more of a team effort and putting people into holes and things like that. That's how I've played for a long time.

If the fitness levels are higher at home have you tried to bring those standards with you?

It's different fitness because in the Northern Hemisphere there's a lot more emphasis on weight and size. If you are a big boy, or you are slow, with the quick taps and everything that happens down South you get found out quickly, whereas over here if you can't scrimmage you get found out quicker than you do back home. There are pros and cons either way, but I'm certainly doing a lot more gym work than I was a few years ago. I'm bigger and stronger now. You have to adapt to where you are.

You've got two All Blacks caps but you effectively gave that up by coming here. Was it a hard decision?

I had a couple of Tests but there were some good outside backs coming through. I felt if I was going to come over here and, first of all to be honest, get a decent contract, and get paid well enough to make the decision to come worthwhile, as well as attract top teams to want me, I had to accept that my international days would end, even though I was still playing relatively well. I didn't want to leave it too late before trying Europe. Obviously you can't play for New Zealand but if you look there are some very good guys playing in this competition that could easily make the All Blacks and they've obviously made the same decision. There's a multitude of reasons, you spend so much time away from home with the All Blacks. It's tough for guys with families and that's why a lot end up coming over.

You mention Leicester's great second half to the season. Tell us about Richard Cockerill's influence since he took over...

He's been massive for us, and Matt O'Connor as well has been massive from the backs point of view. He's probably instilled a little bit more of perhaps you could say a Southern hemisphere approach which I'm really used to, and the guys have taken it on board. We're playing a lot more like we did with Crusaders. We play as a team, spread players across the pitch to use the width, we don't always have to go there but I think it's been awesome. At the start of the season we were kicking a lot more, and I suppose we weren't really kicking that well at times, but now it's just a buzz. You start getting a few wins under the belt and everyone starts getting excited and having ideas about what we should be doing and it is only positive things from there

Gloucester were trying to win a double until last week when they ran out of steam for their League games. It's such a physical sport so is it really possible to win two trophies with all the extra games you have to play?

We'll find out. We have our backs against the wall, we know. Cardiff rested all their players last week, I don't know about Munster but they might well have done the same, but we have got to back up, we have a six day turnaround to play Bath at home again, while those guys have had a chance to rest up. I'm pretty disappointed we're not playing our semi-final on the Saturday. I think we've been hard done by to only have six days to recover before the Premiership play-offs, to be honest. I guess it's a hard road to home but then that will make it all the more successful if we can do it. But you are right, like Gloucester, if we were to lose this weekend then all of a sudden we are under the pump, we are only left in one competition. I'd prefer to look at it that if we can get through this one it will be a massive tick for us in terms of getting confidence and silverware at the end of the season.

Thanks for your time and we wish you luck. We've a free £50 bet for your favourite charity

That can go to the fund for Matt Hampson, the young Leicester forward who suffered a serious neck injury four years ago. There are all sorts of events for him - have a look at www.walk4matt.org. I've got a bet with Toby Flood that Newcastle will get relegated, so I'll put this money on that as well. I know [1.55] isn't great odds but I was always taught a short price winner is better than a losing outsider!