Blakes Nine

Rosco
By Mr Bow Jangles
September 22 2004

In the theme of 'past and present' following on from the Dodge interview last week Mr Bow Jangles caught up with our new scrum half Ross 'Rosco' Blake.

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Read on further and find out why 'superman' left and why he has returned to the home of 'Fashion Rugby'. Get the view from down the A4 from our returned spy in the camp and find out what the real meaning of the word 'embarrassment' means as our NEW ball of energy gets laughed at by 20,000 people!!"

BOW FILES: ROSS BLAKE

Interview held on 6^th August 2004.

Bow: Welcome Back! What persuaded you to come back to Bristol?

Rosco: “I knew that Hilly was interested through speaking to Jack Rowell and the B*th coaches. They said rugby might be limited again next year as Martyn Wood was still there. This wasn’t really an option for me, I needed to be playing rugby regularly being that I am now 24. After speaking to Hilly, he said that Bristol were interested and I jumped at the chance to come back.”

Bow: and what were your reasons for leaving in the first place?

Rosco: “Well I went to Bristol Grammar School and went to Bristol Uni so I had been living in Bristol for a long time. I joined Bristol for the first time in 1998 and had been through all the U21s setup, so I had been in the City for quite a while and I just felt I needed a new challenge. I wasn’t promised anything in playing terms when I went to B*th. They told me Gareth Cooper was first choice and that they wanted me to push him hard. Andy Williams was injured so when he came back it was going to be very competitive so I knew the score when I went there, I just wanted a fresh challenge really.”

Bow: What do you see as the main differences between B*th and Bristol?

Rosco: “I think B*th has an advantage in the fact that they have such a large backroom staff which gets everything you need in place. Whether that’s just because they have better finances there to be able to put that in place I wouldn’t know. B*th is just a professional club though, I think success breeds success and I think all the success they had in the amateur days has just carried them on through into professionalism. The whole setup was already there which made it quite easy for them to adjust.”

Bow: What inspires you to play rugby?

Rosco: “Not sure really. I started playing rugby when I lived up in Glasgow on a Sunday afternoon with my Dad. I played other sports as well, football, swimming, badminton, whatever was going really. Rugby was very regular though, playing every Sunday with your club and playing Saturdays with the school and training it just made it easy to fall into.”

Bow: Whom do you look up to at the club?

Rosco: “At B*th there were quite a few international players there so you have to respect what they have done in the game, people like Catt, Tindall, Balshall, Grewcock and all the rest of them. They’ve got 100s of caps between them and British Lions caps so you have to respect that. In terms of Bristol, it’s a difficult question…there’s people who have been around, people like Salter, Brownrigg and Ed Pearce they have been around for a while and played a lot of Premiership games. They are very experienced players in the squad.”

Bow: Has Ed Pearce been training with the squad now?

Rosco: “Yes he has been training with us this week. He’s a big guy!”

Bow: Who do you think is the best player in your position in England? And the world?

Rosco: “It’s a difficult question, there’s not many good ones about at the moment. Dawson has lost a bit of form recently, Gomarsall has the spot at the moment and he’s a good player. There’s none really coming through that is out-and-out better than the rest. Martyn Wood at B*th and Harry Ellis at Leicester are good players so there are players around, but there isn’t really anyone shouting out to be picked.”

“In the world you have got to look at people like Justin Marshall and George Gregan, they have been playing at the tope level for quite a while.

Bow: Whom would you like to play against/with?

Rosco: “Probably Martyn Wood…he’s a goby sh*te!!! Nah I’m good friends with him really but I would still love to play against him!”

“Difficult to say who I’d like to play with, I am obviously looking forward to playing with the lads in the squad, whoever gets picked. I am just looking forward to playing really.”

Bow: What are your aspirations? Do you set yourself goals?

Rosco: “This season I just want to perform well week-in-week-out just to keep my spot in the team. Greg is a great player so its going to be a competitive season, if one of us isn’t playing well then the other will get a chance, so I need to cement a regular place in the team and make sure I am one of the players playing well all the time.”

“In terms of my career, if I play well then we shall see what will happen. I’d like to get as far as I can but its up to other people. If I play well then I have done my bit.”

Bow: Who is the worse/best dressed player in the squad?

Rosco: “Its hard we haven’t been out much so I haven’t seen the lads in their gear. Lets go, best dressed Marko and worse dressed …..(lots of thinking!)…..not sure, there must be someone, let me think…..who can I stitch up?!!!.......just put Jim B down!!!”

Bow: Who’s the joker in the squad?

Rosco: “Well I like a gag or 2 but other than that Salts is a right joker!!”

Bow: and what about the quietest?

Rosco: “Mike Griffiths”

Bow: Who’s been coping the most banter in training this week? What for?

Rosco: “Probably me because I haven’t trained. I got an insect bite on Monday, it has swollen up and so I haven’t trained since Monday.”

Bow: Other than Richard Hill who would you most like to be coached by?

Rosco: “Tough questions these!!......Not sure, none really stands out.”

Bow: What about the coaches you have had so far?

Rosco: “Well at B*th they were all Australian so they brought a very Australian style, but they were very organised and professional and did put a lot of hours in. It was good coaching, very specific, well thought out and all with a point to it. I didn’t necessarily agree with everything they were doing but overall it was good. Brian Smith used to do a lot of skills training so my scrumhalf training was from him mainly.”

“I’ve only just joined Bristol but I am looking forward to being coached by Hilly obviously an experienced scrum half himself.

Bow: What irritates you most about rugby?

Rosco: “Touch judges that feel they have to get involved. They have a roll to play but when they try to referee the game from the touchline it can be frustrating. They always seem to feel like they have to get involved when often it is not needed. I also don’t like pedantic referees who stop games from flowing.”

Bow: What do you think of Bristol and it’s fans?

Rosco: “Yea Bristol is good, it’s a really nice City. I was about 10/11 years old when I moved down to Bristol from Glasgow. I had my last year of Junior School down here. The City has plenty of good things going for it. It’s a prime spot in the South West, its chilled out, relaxed and there’s always lots to do.”

“The Bristol fans are great, they are very loyal, they’ve been through a lot so hopefully in the next couple of seasons we can repay that faith.”

Bow: What would you be doing now if you weren’t playing rugby?

Rosco: “I’d probably be working in the City in London I should think. I’d like to think I would anyway. It’s probably quite lucky that I played rugby. I did my Geography degree just so I didn’t limit myself…I didn’t want to specify anything and then once I had finished it I had a new contract on the table, so it worked out well. I was lucky that I never had to make that decision. I would quite like to get into property eventually. Once I have finished my career I’d like to go to Oxford or Cambridge and do a Masters in either a Business Management course or a Real Estate Finance course. So yea, definitely I would like to try and get a blue.”

Bow: Do you have any pre/post match rituals?

Rosco: “I like a few beers after a game!! No I don’t really have any rituals, I’m not superstitious!”

Bow: What do you enjoy most about being a rugby player?

Rosco: “You get to keep fit and train hard. Obviously there’s a lot of time off so if you have some other hobbies you can take advantage as you can only train for a certain amount of hours in the day. To be honest I also enjoy the games, I just enjoy playing the game in front of you’re home crowd. You get a buzz from playing in front of thousands of people”

Bow: So are you looking forward to the roar when you set foot back out on the Memorial Ground again?

Rosco: “Yes definitely”

Bow: What hobbies do you have outside rugby?

Rosco: “I like golf and tennis and all the normal stuff like going to the cinema etc..”

Bow: What are your strengths and weaknesses as a player/person?

Rosco: “My strengths are probably my passing and my communication, I like to lead from the front. My weaknesses are that I don’t score enough tries!! I’ll definitely be rabbiting on at the forwards a lot!”

“As a person, my strengths are I am hardworking and determined. My weaknesses……hmmmmmm…..kryptonite!!!!!!....nah only joking!”

Bow: Did you watch Bristol last season?

Rosco: “Yes I saw them play on a few occasions yea.”

Bow: What was the merger and Oxford speculation like in the B*th camp?

Rosco: “It was quite uncertain times as none knew what was going on, there was plenty of rumours going round, but Jack Rowell was very good at telling us what was true and not true. You just kept hearing more and more in the press so it was difficult just not knowing and given B*th were struggling with relegation it was just difficult all round for the players.”

Bow: Would you consider coaching/managing when your career finishes?

Rosco: “I am trying to do some coaching at the moment actually trying to get my Level 2 coaching kids but I wouldn’t want to be involved in the game as a fulltime coach long term. I enjoy coaching the academy, but beyond that I don’t see myself doing anything else.”

Bow: What do you think Bristol’s prospects are this season?

Rosco: “I think it is very promising, we have a good squad together, all the new players that have come back are a good bunch of lads, we are all getting on really well with each other, training hard. I think if we can play somewhere near our potential then we can be very competitive and finish in the top 1,2 or 3.”

Bow: What’s your funniest moment in rugby so far?

Rosco: “I remember playing a pre-season game against Newport for Bristol, all my friends were there, I did a cross-field kick and it went straight to their winger who scored. When I kicked it you could hear the whole crowds gasp at the horror of it!!”

“Last year in the Middlesex 7s, I was taking a conversion in front of the posts, I missed it and 20,000 people started laughing at me!!”

Bow: What’s the darkest moment you’ve had so far?

Rosco: “It was very frustrating to be sat on the bench week in week out when you have trained hard all week. It was hard to stay motivated. I wasn’t getting a look in no matter how well I was playing in the United games. It made me realise I needed to move away and play some rugby.”

Bow: Whom do you owe most to for your career?

Rosco: “I’ve been quite lucky that when I was at school and at Clifton that we always had a successful team with a strong group of players. That’s obviously been helped by the coaches I have had along the way, people like Rik Sellars at Bristol Grammar.”

Bow: Who has do you think will be the surprise package of the squad this year?

Rosco: “That’s a tough question having not played a game yet. There’s a lot of people who are looking good in training. It will be good to see Adam Billig play for instance now he is back from injury as he is looking very sharp. Luke and the rest are also looking good.”

Bow: Who’s this new Bristol Uni lad that has joined the squad this week?

Rosco: “James Matteius? He is a big lump, he’s 110kg so he definitely has the physical presence that you need at centre and he’s only 19 so he definitely has time to develop.”

Bow: If you could have brought one player with you from B*th who would it have been?

Rosco: “To improve the team in a rugby sense I’d have brought Mike Catt because at a club level if he stays fit(!!) then he is one of the best around.”

Fan Question (TP): How much can you bench-press?

Rosco: “I have bench-pressed 135kg at the moment I have done 5 reps on 115kg”

Bow: Message for the fans?

Rosco: “Thanks for your constant support. Hopefully we can repay the faith you have all shown over the years with some good performances and some winning performances. We want to play well in a good style but importantly win well too.”

FAVOURITE
Colour?	Khaki
Food?	Chicken
TV Programme?	Peter Kay
Football Team/Cricket Team?	Bristol City/Gloucestershire
Film?	Raging Bull
Drink?	Ribena (JD & Coke)
Woman?	Kate Beckinsale/Keira Knightley
Music?	R&B
Who would you like to be stuck on a desert island with?	Kate Beckinsale/Keira Knightley!
Describe yourself in 3 words?	Cheeky, Confident, Hardworking

EITHER/OR
Lager/Bitter?	Lager
Eastenders/Coronation Street?	Eastenders
Nurse/Teacher?	Nurse
Football/Cricket?	Football
Rock/Dance?	Rock
*Bth/Gloucester?**	B*th
Dawson/Bracken?	Dawson
Curry/Chinese?	Chinese
Night in/out?	Night Out
Beach/Snow holiday?	Snow
Australia/South America?	South America
Brittney/Christina?	Brittney
Bum/Boobs?	Bum
Mullet/Crewcut?	Mullet
Cat/Dog	Dog