Third time lucky for Howe
As Howe prepares for battle against England today at Twickenham, he can’t help thinking that Ulster and Irish sport has been robbed of one of the finest sportsmen around.
“It puts all this talk about Ireland/England into a bit more perspective, doesn’t it?”
But despite Howe’s lament for a young man whom he admired greatly, he recognises that life must go on and that concentration will be a key factor if Ireland are to turn back the clock a decade this afternoon.
He relishes the prospect of making a third appearance on this famous ground and hopes it will be a case of third time lucky.
Howe, an Oxford graduate, lost twice to Cambridge in annual varsity matches back in the 1990’s.
The second of them, in 1995, almost wrecked a career that was put on hold for three long years due to a serious pelvic injury.
For everything that followed, he is thankful to one man - Harry Williams. “For most of those three years, I concentrated on a teaching career and it took me until 1998 to pluck up the courage to give the game another try.
“I joined Newbury in England for training purposes only and I was amazed to find that the injury was no longer troublesome. Out of the blue Harry gave me a call, came over to watch me and then offered me an Ulster contract.
“It was a big decision to make because I wasn’t sure whether I could survive full time training, not to mind playing matches at that level.”
With 12 Irish caps to his credit and a place on the British and Irish Lions tour party to Australia three years ago as a replacement, he is content with life but at 32, time is not on his side, particularly with Geordan Murphy recovering from a broken leg at the rate of knots and with Denis Hickie making progress too.
“I’m grateful for the chances I’ve had. I grew up dreaming about putting on the green shirt some day. I got my chance at U21 and A levels but those three years were frustrating ones for me. I had given up all hope until
Harry offered me that contract.”
It was partially because of a strong work ethic that the windows of opportunity continuously open for Howe. “Hard work is one of my strong points. When I was out of the game I missed the excitement, missed just about everything about the sport. Because of the nature of the injury, I had to do a lot more work than normal to get myself back to full fitness.
“I came back to rugby at a relatively mature age and it did probably give me a greater perspective than earlier in life. I certainly appreciated things more. My philosophy is always to try and give it my best. Happily, it seems to be good enough for the Irish selectors at the moment.”
It was all a bit different a few months ago when Howe was omitted from Ireland’s original World Cup squad last autumn.
“I saw it coming,” he says. “I really didn’t think I would make it. The incentive for me throughout that pre-World Cup build up was to put myself in a position high up on the list of replacements. As it happened, I was called up and that justified the effort I put in over the previous six months.”
Howe does not share the pessimism surrounding today’s task and warms to the question of playing outside two players whom he rates among the best in the game. “Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy are both fantastic athletes, very evasive runners and very strong in the tackle. Both of them have the ability to offload possession, not only before but often in or after the tackle.
“The key is to win primary possession and I do think that our pack will provide a much sterner examination than either Italy or Scotland did. I can’t see us dominating the English pack but neither can I see us being short-changed.
“It’s as tough as it gets but we’re determined not to fold. I can’t remember a time when Ireland went into a game with England at Twickenham as favourites, so it’s no different than any time before. OK, the odds against us have stretched out a bit, but so what!”
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