James Isaacson Interview - 24th August 2005
You da man!
By apb
October 8 2006
Last Wednesday, being an introverted kind of a guy, I was worried about going along to a press day, under prepared, wondering what on earth I would talk to the players about. I needn't have worried. My first interviewee that day, James Isaacson, can talk for England! My first question was Why Leeds?
JI: Well, things weren't happening as fast as I'd like at Newcastle, for one reason or another. I was fighting fit, I was playing really well but I wasn't getting selected. So, I had a chat with Rob Andrew, he had a look at my contract and I said what I said to you. He said "what do you want to do?" I said "I think I'm going backwards. I'm 25, my career's stuttering and I want to move on, I need a different challenge." I sort of backed him into a corner and had to get permission to look around which he gave. I got a phone call from Jon Dunbar asking what I was doing, and I mentioned that I was thinking of moving on. A week later he called me back and said that Phil Davies was interested in giving me a ring! So I did it without my agent at all! I spoke to a few other clubs - Bristol, Northampton, Saracens - but as soon as I met Phil he put my mind at rest really...
APB: There's something about him isn't there!
JI: Well yes, but it was more than that. The thing that grabbed me was I'd never met a more honest, straight talking fellow. He said to me straight away "If you train well, if you play well, if you do the business, you're going to get picked". And that hasn't always happened in my career. And I felt I had to come here because I know I can do the business! It hasn't been said, but I know there's a feeling I'm just here to make up the numbers; I play any position in the front row and that automatically classes you as a bench player, but I've got ambitions and this is a team with ambitions too. I'm going to give it all my worth we'll see how it comes out.
I'm really excited about coming here - they're a great bunch of lads. Its always said at different teams that there's no cliques and yet there always are little cliques and factions. But this is the first squad where there hasn't been anything like that. You get the young guys, the old guys, everyone's down the middle with you, everyone puts their hat in the ring, the coaching staff are all the same as well - there's a real squad mentality, a real drive for Yorkshire as Phil keeps reminding us!
APB: That's the stereotyped Yorkshire values isn't it? And they seem to be living that here - dispite the number of Boks and Scots here...
JI: (Laughs) Yeah, there wasn't that kind of drive towards pride in the county at Newcastle - I'm not getting at them in any way; they're a great bunch of lads and very talented, but there wasn't that same county spirit. And if there isn't that at the end of the day when the chips are down, real pride in the jersey kind of thing, then you're missing something, and I felt that was one of the better factors here.
APB: The battle against relegation last year we could all see that pride in the county, that spirit. Did that persuade you? Did you look on from the outside and think "Ah, there's something happeneing there"?
JI: Not really as such, being in a different club house we were concentrating on what we were doing, but I know for a fact the whole Premiership pricked their ears up and automatically looked at Leeds for the last five or six games of the season where they were undoubtedly the best team in the competition over that period. In terms of coming here, I kept in touch with JD and I knew most of the guys that were here last year were staying, and the kind of work ethic that is in place here - where you work hard and get the rewards for that hard work. And when that runs out the cameraderie kept the lads together, and its that do or die attitude that I can be fond of, and would like to get used to!
APB: Forgive me, but I don't know an awful lot about your background. Perhaps you can give me a brief CV?
JI: Yeah, I'm from a mining town, Easington Village on the east Durham coast, I was actually born there. I didn't touch a rugby ball until I was 11. Given the surroundings everyone was mad on football - Sunderland supporters! I went to private school in Durham and obviously played rugby there. I had a bit of a talent for it and rose through the ranks. I met Hall Charlton, Michael Stephenson, Lee Best, Garath Archer and Martin Shaw there, so there's a bit of a pedigree!
APB: Blimey! A fair old factory of talent there!
JI: Yeah, Mike Stephenson and Hall Charlton were in my year and we all got signed up by Newcastle when we left and went on from there. We had a lot of years together playing club rugby before signing up for Newcastle. I've very fond memories of that time.
APB: Were you always playing front row, or did you start as a winger?
JI: I wish I did now I tell you! My ears might look a bit better! No, I started off at tighthead - I was put there by my coach and stayed there until I was 21 until I turned pro. And then moved over to loosehead maybe a year later and moved over to hooker last year. I do attempt to play winger notably when I'm blowing out my arse! (laughs)
APB: I think it was one of the other press lads earlier on who described you as Newcastle's Jonah Lomu...
JI: (Laughs) ... That's quite a compliment!....
APB: ... that's what I thought! So I thought I need to speak to this guy!
JI: ... I have been known to stick myself out in the back line occasionally! My strengths were playing around the park and making the yardage when I first turned pro, but you have to be able to do the tight stuff which I found out pretty quickly, so I knocked it on the head and hammered that for a bit, and now I'm into an all round game. It took its time but its coming good now.
APB: Have you had a chance to look at the Rhinos yet. Has rugby league been anything like on your radar at all?
JI: I didn't really watch rugby league apart from a couple of times on Sky in the past few years. I caught the first live game at the double-header the other day. I watch the guys train down at Kirkstall occasionally and they're a very physical bunch of guys. We've had Barrie McDermott down to teach some tackling and defensive techniques and those guys are on a different level in some aspects of the game; particularly defence, these are things you wouldn't get from coaches who've been in Union all their lives. They're very technical too, and it works - they're not people that talk a load of bollocks; they've been doing this stuff for years and it works! And its made a massive difference to my defence and the other lads as well. It gives a new edge and its something we have got to really hammer since there's no other team that has that benefit.
APB: And of course you could teach them a thing or two about scrummaging!
JI: (Laughs) Yeah! I hear they're attempting the odd pushover now and again! We gave them a bit of a ribbing about that - learning how to scrummage, but they mention defence so we better let it lie!
APB: I've got my list of "Smash Hits" questions here, so we'll start of with: What sporting moment in your life would you most like to relive?
JI: Running out at Parc des Prince against Stade Francais last season. It was a crowd of 30-40 thousand, and I couldn't believe it when I went out. The noise just lifts you another couple of notches, 25-30% and that was just fantastic.
APB: You could relive it this year with Perpignan of course!
JI: Well when we played in Perpignan it was different because they kept the crowd out of the ground until five minutes before the game and whn they came in they just went insane! But no, playing in France is stunning when you get it right. So running on the pitch at the Parc des Prince against one of the favourites for the tournament is the moment I'd like to relive.
APB: And what non-sporting moment would you most like to relive?
JI: The birth of my first child. I've just had a baby daughter she's four and a half months
APB: Awwww!
JI: Yeah, its a bit of a cliche but it absolutely is. Something that's brand new to me and she's really special - the light of my life!
APB: Favourite food?
JI: Anything Italian.
APB: Favourite drink?
JI: In season, blackcurrant and lemonade, out of season a nice cool lager!
APB: Favourite book or other reading material?
JI: Sporting autobiographies. I've just read Willie John McBride's autobiography and the Lance Armstrong one is doing the rounds at the moment. I'm not really into fiction or anything like that. JD is a bit of a reader and keeps trying to get me into it, but no, sporting autobigraphies is my thing.
APB: Now, here's a good one. If you could go back and give a thirteen-year-old James Isaacson some advice, given what you know now, what would it be?
JI: (Pauses) Don't take anything at face value. You can get bigged up to be the greatest thing, you can train like Tarzan during the week, but if you don't perfom on the pitch you'll just get put to the back of the queue. So don't have any inhibitions, go for what you do, take you opportunities and drive it home.
APB: Do you have a nickname yet?
JI: (chuckles) Not at this club! I'm not going to tell you about the others!
APB: Oh go on!
JI: I just get called "Isy" by the guys, so we'll keep it at that. There've been a few other things rattling around but I'll let these guys figure it out.
APB: About certain adventures? You don't have to tell me, but just give us some clues!
JI: There was an incident at University I got a nickname for - nothing sexual! - but there was an incident with some alcohol as you'd imagine. But I've got a load of other names. I tell you what, "Sausage Legs" was one.....
APB: (Guffaws)
JI: ...because when I broke my leg in 2003, and I had to work bloody hard just to get any shape back to my leg. And when I came back the lads said it just looked like a sausage on a stick! So, Sausage Leg was one and that's all I'm going to give you!
APB: Fantastic! That's good enough! Finally, your favourite way to relax?
JI: Just going out for a nice meal with my partner. A nice glass of wine, a pasta dish and a chance to chat - as you can imagine its a bit hectic in my house at the moment with a four month old! And maybe watching a bit of TV just to unwind.