ARMITAGE VOWS TO MAKE No15 SHIRT HIS OWN
Delon Armitage has vowed to make the England full-back shirt his own following his man-of-the-match display on his debut against the Pacific Islanders. Before Saturday's 39-13 win, Martin Johnson's first game in charge, the London Irish speedster had had his nerves eased thanks to an "out-of-the-blue" text message from Jason Robinson, the retired World Cup winning No15 and former team-mate of Johnsons who backed Armitage to cement his place in the team.
The 24-year-old, the country's ninth full-back in 18 months, was assured under the high ball, in defence and showed his electric pace in attack at Twickenham as England ran in five tries thanks to two from winger Paul Sackey and one each for Danny Cipriani, Lee Mears and lock Nick Kennedy, Armitage's club colleague, also making his international bow.
"I don"t think my debut could have gone any better," said the Trinidad-born No15, who previously played for France Under-16s. "When I woke up in the morning I was just panicking - I had so many butterflies that I couldn't have breakfast.
"I got a text from Jason Robinson before the game - it was a big booster for me. He told me to go out there and enjoy it because I deserve it. He said: 'You have worked really hard for it and this is where you should be.' When such great player tells you that, it really lifts you and give you the confidence to think that you can play at this level.
"I want to keep this shirt - I want to make the No15 shirt mine. Hopefully I can keep working hard and Johnno will pick me again. There is quite a lot of work still to be done. Australia are a very tough team and we are going to have to step it up another level and work really hard this week."
Delon Armitage has vowed to make the England full-back shirt his own following his man-of-the-match display on his debut against the Pacific Islanders. Before Saturday's 39-13 win, Martin Johnson's first game in charge, the London Irish speedster had had his nerves eased thanks to an "out-of-the-blue" text message from Jason Robinson, the retired World Cup winning No15 and former team-mate of Johnsons who backed Armitage to cement his place in the team.
The 24-year-old, the country's ninth full-back in 18 months, was assured under the high ball, in defence and showed his electric pace in attack at Twickenham as England ran in five tries thanks to two from winger Paul Sackey and one each for Danny Cipriani, Lee Mears and lock Nick Kennedy, Armitage's club colleague, also making his international bow.
"I don"t think my debut could have gone any better," said the Trinidad-born No15, who previously played for France Under-16s. "When I woke up in the morning I was just panicking - I had so many butterflies that I couldn't have breakfast.
"I got a text from Jason Robinson before the game - it was a big booster for me. He told me to go out there and enjoy it because I deserve it. He said: 'You have worked really hard for it and this is where you should be.' When such great player tells you that, it really lifts you and give you the confidence to think that you can play at this level.
"I want to keep this shirt - I want to make the No15 shirt mine. Hopefully I can keep working hard and Johnno will pick me again. There is quite a lot of work still to be done. Australia are a very tough team and we are going to have to step it up another level and work really hard this week."
Labels: Delon Armitage, England, Rugby Football Union
