French watches final from front row

1:39pm Friday 25th May 2007

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ON their website, Henley Hawks include Tom French in their player profiles and under previous clubs they list London Wasps.

They'll be lucky.

The 23-year-old went from obscurity to prop star in 80 minutes at Twickenham on Sunday and has probably soared out of Hawks' reach for good.

He said: "I flicked on the television on Monday morning and saw the highlights. It's just the oddest thing hearing the commentator saying your name. It's so surreal."

He is talking about the Heineken Cup final when Wasps out-muscled Leicester 25-9 and the roar of ferocious Tiger Julian White was muted by his upstart opponent.

But go back a week and it's a different story. French is winding down the season with a few soft training sessions after returning to Wasps from his loan at Henley.

He is expecting to remember the season as one of disappointment after his adopted team missed out on promotion from National League 2 by one point.

He said: "As far as I was concerned, the season was over. We were still training but the match-programme was over."

But then Bath turn down Wasps' request for a friendly, no-one else wants to play them either and French finds himself called into the second team for a training match against the firsts.

England captain Phil Vickery and France captain Raphael Ibanez are his front row opponents.

French said: "I just played my normal game and tried to give Vicks a tough time. You've always got a chance, but I didn't realise how real a chance it was. I didn't expect that game to have such an impact."

But Vickery and Ibanez were impressed and on their say-so he got the call.

He said: "On Monday we had a unit session and Dowdy forwards coach Craig Dowd called the black pack over, the probables, plus me.

"I was pretty surprised and after the session Dowdy said, does that give you a clear indication for the weekend?' "I didn't say anything. I think I just stared at him stupidly.

"On Tuesday I found out I was starting and then for the rest of the week the nerves came in waves.

"One minute it was oh my God, this is such a big game' but then ten minutes later I was fine, telling myself that it's going to happen so there is no point being nervous."

Getting the vote of confidence from Vickery and Ibanez gave him a lift though.

He said: "Guys of that calibre saying that they want me in is pretty unbelievable. It's the ultimate compliment.

"I remember watching Raph playing when I was growing up. As the French captain he seemed to always be playing on television. The thing that impressed me about him was the way he got around the pitch. He's not the biggest guy but he's so hard.

"I suppose with Vicks the game I remember most is the World Cup Final. I watched it in the Walkabout on Embankment. It was a bit of a gamble watching England against France in an Australian pub.

"If anyone had told me then I would play alongside him in the Heineken Cup final in a few years I would have laughed at them."

Not only playing, but nullifying one of rugby's most destructive scrummagers in the biggest game in the history of club rugby.

French said: "Julian White has a call, cozzer, which means they're about to put the pressure on. Martin Corry is going to keep it in his feet and they are going to drive.

"They didn't call it in the first half but in the second half I think Raph gave away a penalty and Julian called it then.

"It's slightly nerve-wracking when you hear it, but you just have to get ready for the weight and I thought we coped well."

And French particularly. He took many of the plaudits and his career has suddenly moved to a new level.

He said: "My winner's medal is still on the dining room table downstairs.

"I gave it to my parents to keep because I didn't want to lose it.

"Raph lost his. He dropped it on the field after the match somewhere. He got it back in the end but I didn't want to lose mine."

What they said about him: Craig Dowd: "Julian White is probably one of the most destructive scrummagers in the world and to come straight into a game of this magnitude, having not even played in the Guinness Premiership, is huge.

"But I wasn't overly surprised. I've followed Frenchy's progress quite closely and I monitor his weights in the gym and it's not widely known, but he's one of our strongest props. He does push a lot of weights and technically he's very sound as a loose-head."

Alex King: "Leicester pride themselves in the scrummaging so Tom French today was my Man of the Match. Julian White has decimated scrums all over Europe this year and Tom is a guy who has been out on loan at Henley for nine months.

"His first competitive start is in the Heineken Cup Final against one of the best packs in Europe and he performed magnificently. I couldn't be more proud of what he's achieved and it sums up the culture of Wasps really."

Phil Vickery: "I'm pleased for Frenchy. We sat down last week and talked about it and I think if it wasn't a Heineken Cup Final no-one would have thought about his selection.

"He's a young lad with a fantastic future ahead of him and I hope he goes on and becomes a regular.

Tim Payne has had an outstanding season for us and has been unfortunate with his injury, but there's some competition for places now."

Joe Worsley: "I was amazed. None of us had every played with him before, he'd never played a proper game for the first team, it was just incredible.

"He was my Man of the Match. He dealt with Julian White and technically he got it right. He's not a big guy by any stretch but if he carries on playing like that he's got a big future.

"When Tim went we really struggled at loose-head but maybe he can be the guy to fill that spot."

Lawrence Dallaglio: "Tim Payne was a big loss to us, but you wouldn't have known it the way Frenchy played today.

He took on one of the best scrummagers in the world and came out on top."

Fraser Waters: "Leicester have been dominating sides up front but our forwards were outstanding today and made our life a lot easier for us in the backs. Tom French came in for his first game and did a fantastic job."

Ian McGeechan: "We wanted to start with the strongest front row and Raph and Vicks said Tom should be in it, so we went with it."