Scrum of the Earth /

Trying to get a one-to-one with Delon Armitage has been like drawing blood from a stone. He’s hardly Danny Celebriani status, for one the Trinidad-born full-back hasn’t got an A-list girlfriend to pose around London’s hot-spots with, but he is quickly becoming a sports media darling.

One of five rugby mad brothers, Delon has been a revelation in the England jersey during the autumn.

A shining example of England’s new-look cosmopolitan zest, the London Irish flyer could’ve been wearing the Gallic blue of France had a short-sighted official not told him he was “too small and too skinny.”

Not that his years spent on the sunny splendours of the Cote d’Zur have left much of a damp mark. What you see is what you get with Delon. There’s an air of arrogance about the 24-year-old. Just like the way he hits a running line or leaps to snaffle a towering garryowen. Everything is done with finesse and a swagger. So is he enjoying the new challenge under Martin Johnson? Not much.

How have you been settling in?

“I’m trying to keep my head down, being the new boy and all and not showing off with lots of banter in front of the older boys, who are waiting to cut you down in a flash. It’s been a lot of fun. They’re just your mates that you play against or with, week in week out.”

And DC [Danny Care] says you’re awful at Pro-Evo? [soccer]

“At London Irish, i’m number one but I came over here talking it up and i’ve been schooled by Danny and Cips. It’s early days yet, we’ve got a couple more weeks to go, but i’m determined to beat them and make them cry.”

Do you see yourself as a bit of a role model?

“I’ve started to get little kids coming up to me, saying “well done.” It hasn’t quite sunk in yet.  It has dawned on me that people are watching my every move now.”

Have you started to question yourself a bit more?

“It’s natural, especially when 80,000 people at Twickenham are waiting for you to swear or hit yourself after a mistake on the big screen. It’s like Big Brother. That’s where watching Jason Robinson helps. If he’d make an error, he’d shrug it off and think about the next play instead of giving himself a hard time.”

So it’s a bit like Shane Geraghty’s golf then. If you aren’t at your best, at least look good…
 
“Exactly. That’s what I try and tell him. It doesn’t help his golf by having small hands and fingers but he doesn’t listen to any of my advice.”

Has the extra-pressure altered your preparation?

“Not really. It goes through my head on game day that I must eat beforehand. You can feel it on the pitch, especially at this level when you can go through five or six minutes without the ball going out and it’s fast end-to-end stuff.”

So no carbo-loading and frantically piling on the energy-based bars then?

“I do try my best to get something down me, if only to relax. Now i’ve had something to eat, i’ve got the energy boost to last the whole game.”

Do you like being in control then?

“I just let everything happen until the kick off because once the whistle’s gone the nerves have too. You can do all the preparation in the world, but once the ball’s gone, that’s it. It’s on.”

“I just try and build up to it and don’t try to rush time because it’s not going to go any faster.”

Do you get frustrated a lot?

“I moan about everything. There are times when i’ll just moan for the sake of it. I’m quite moody. I’ll be whinging about something to Steff and once he explains it to me, i’ll often turn it into a joke and say ‘Look i’m only messing.’

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