New Shogun signing meets the media
Martin Shaw
By Duncan Wood
July 11 2002
Late yesterday afternoon, Bristol announced the signing of former Sale and England A centre, Martin Shaw on a 2 year deal. Today he met the local press alongside his new head coach, Peter Thorburn.
Are you looking forward to playing outside Pichot & Contepomi?
MS: Very much so. I've been very impressed with what I've seen of them.
Why leave Sale?
MS: Well, since I was at Newcastle and we won the league, I haven't really played behind a dominant pack. I know Garath Archer and Ross Beattie quite well and a few of the other boys and I just really liked the move down here. The club is very professional and and it seems all round a structured place to be.
(To Peter Thorburn) There's talk about Bristol having potential, is Martin part of that potential?
PT: Well, he's still young enough to have potential! Certainly the midfield area with Jason going is one where we're fairly young and inexperienced. Duncan Heyward is coming through from the Academy and Andrew Higgins is still only 21 so it's pretty young and inexperienced. Martin just adds that expereinced quality to solidify the midfield.
Will be be going straight into the team?
PT: I don't know the team yet! Logic says that he'll be in fairly quickly but we've got 4 preseason games in which to have a look at all the combinations. We didn't bring him down here just to sit him on the bench all season.
What do you think of the squad this season?
PT: Well, I haven't seen the squads in the past but I think it's pretty well balanced. We've got depth all the way through now that Martin adds depth to the midfield. Depth across 31 or 32 players.
Martin, you know a lot of the players here, Arch and Lee Best, did that influence your decision?
MS: Yeah. Definitely. When I first went to Sale, it was the only club in the country where I didn't know anyone! For about 6 months it made it quite hard to settle into things. Whereas after 3 days here, I already feel very much at home. Just knowing familiar faces helps and everyone has been very friendly.
You presumably had offers from other clubs - what tipped the balance towards Bristol?
MS: I think the huge potential. They were the only team to beat Leicester at Leicester in years. When I played against them I though to myself that it would be a great team to get ball at and be a part of the backline. With the other places, I just felt that I'd be going from 1 club to a similar one and that's not what it's all about.
And do you regret scoring that hat trick against Bristol now?
(Laughter from both) PT: We've brought him down here to sit him on the bench to get back at him. Revenge of the Kiwis!
MS: No, I don't regret it but I'm looking forward to scoring a lot more for this side.
Who were the other tems you were talking to?
MS: A couple. Northampton, Worcester as well. I was chatting to Quins and there was maybe staying put as well. So, good teams but the other Premiership teams were similar to where I was at with Sale. Although they did well, we were very lucky with injuries so we always had our first XV out. Here with injuries, there are numerous players who can fit in and the team will still be strong.
How close is the squad to where you want it to be?
PT: Virtually finalised. We're involving a few Academy players. We're fairly settled although they're not all here at the moment. There is just one other player though...