Gomarsall's life of two halves

First flirtation with the big-time ended in tears, but the brash boy is now a man to be respected

In the final seconds of Gloucester's game against Harlequins, Andy Gomar-sall hit Scott Bemand with a tackle that looked like something out of gridiron. The Stoop let out a collective groan, the referee signalled end of play and Gomarsall, having half-buried his opposite number, helped Bemand to his feet as Gloucester got their Zurich Premiership challenge off to a winning start.

All players, especially scrum-halves, are required to do more than pass and kick. "I'm starting to make tackles I'm proud of," Gomarsall said. "It's such a big part of the game. It's an advantage if you have a No 9 who can defend like a back-row forward." Gloucester award a weekly T-shirt to the best tackler and Gomarsall was the recipient after the Quins match. He is back in business, with a vengeance, his career undergoing a dramatic fall and rise.

Dimitri Yachvili or Andy Gomarsall? For the most part last season, Philippe Saint-André, the then Gloucester coach, perversely preferred the former. "When Philippe signed me I was very impressed with what he had to say. I liked the way he wanted to play the game. Then I went 12 league games without being picked. I tried to put across my views but, surprisingly for a former player, he was not very interested in other people's thoughts. I wanted to get back into the England set-up but Clive Woodward told me there was no way he could pick me because of the style Gloucester were playing. Did Philippe care? All he cared about was Gloucester winning, which is fair enough, but when he saw I was unhappy he didn't speak to me. Even in team meetings if I was right I was wrong."

Philippe and Dimitri moved to France, leaving Gomarsall as the No 1 No 9, and in the form of his life. "I was not sorry to see Philippe go. He was holding me back and it was a tough period. It developed into a saga which I'm glad is over."

The question now is: Matt Dawson, Kyran Bracken or Andy Gomarsall for England? Gomarsall is the man in possession, having finished last season higher than a hot-air balloon, not only with the Cherry and Whites but also with England. He played a blinder against the Barbarians – Phil Larder singled him out for his defence – and promoted his cause in the Test victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires, laying on the try for Ben Kay.

At Gloucester, Gomarsall is playing behind a pack who, judging by their second-half performance against Sale last week, will take some beating. At Newcastle today Rob Andrew, who accused the Gloucester hooker Olivier Azam of racist abuse against Epi Taione during a torrid affair at Kingsholm, may be forced to swallow another slice of Cherry pie.

Gomarsall has been reunited at Gloucester with the former England scrum-half and Wasps coach Nigel Melville. "We have a fantastic relationship even though he occasionally threatens to sack me. I can speak to him not as a coach but as a scrum-half, and that's a big help." The two worked together at Wasps, Gomarsall's first love after making his mark at Bedford School. He was a precocious teenager (too precocious by half, according to some) when he went on Wasps' tour to Canada in 1993. "It was the old ethos and it taught me what club rugby is all about. It was one of the greatest tours I've ever been on and the stories will live with me forever."

Not even a 76-10 defeat to Llanelli Under-21s, in which Scott Quinnell scored four tries, would deter him. "I thought, 'Jesus, this is a different world', but it was good for us. We learnt quickly and topped the Under-21 league table."

In 1996 Gomarsall made his debut for England, scoring two tries against Italy at Twickenham. The young Wasp thought he was the bee's knees. "There were things I didn't like about myself and looking back now it horrifies me to think I was like that. It was a classic case of the upstart coming through. I was more chopsy when things weren't going right."

They went wrong for Gomarsall very quickly. After his brazen debut, England lost to France and he was the only player dropped. Although he went on England's tour to Argentina the following year he discovered that a back problem was, in fact, a prolapsed disc. He needed surgery and was out for eight months.

By 1999 his career at Wasps was over. "We finished on a high, winning the Tetley's Bitter Cup, but I was shown the door for reasons which had nothing to do with my rugby. The club gave me a wrong diagnosis for my back and told me to play on. I decided to employ my own fitness coach and they took a dim view. It's my career and I was prepared to pay for a second opinion. I thought the selection policy was unfair and Nigel [Melville] was upset about an article written by my agent. Things went downhill from there. Perhaps part of it was me getting big- headed. I may have strayed from the basics. I thought I'd spend my life at Wasps but the experience has helped me. It's been a long while but I now realise what it takes."

Before joining Gloucester, Gomarsall had a season as captain at Bedford, partnering the player-coach Paul Turner. "It was brilliant playing under him. It's an old rugby club and I enjoyed everything about it. I got my passion back. It broke my heart to see them go down."

At 28, Gomarsall, who has only eight caps, finally thinks he has arrived. He has travelled from England training at Penny-hill Park to a Gloucester session at Woodlawns, a bruised left leg causing him to limp. His wife, Francesca, is a physio. "I'm the world's worst patient and she wouldn't treat me if I paid her." England or Gloucester, Gomarsall is at home.

"First and foremost, what Clive Woodward and Nigel Melville want is really quick ball from first phase. That's my game, delivering a fast, hard and accurate pass to give the backs as much time as possible. Against Sale I was pinging it left, right and centre. It was direct, hard rugby but done at pace. If you can keep the ball it's hard to defend against."

Henry Paul would prefer to play No 10 but has Ludovic Mercier to contend with. "I don't care where Henry plays," Gomarsall said, "as long as he plays. When he and Ludo are together it gives me options. Henry wants to get back into the England squad and he'll do it on the pitch. In the modern game you've got to be flexible. After a couple of phases players are popping up in all sorts of positions."

Dean Ryan, Melville's new assistant, has said there is much more to come from Gloucester, which suggests they are looking at a higher plane. "How quickly things have turned around," Gomarsall said. "I'm loving it and this time I won't let it change."