Hugh Godwin: Happy days for White might of England

Much as John Wells, the Leicester head coach, would have us believe that his England forwards returned from the autumn internationals in bits and pieces, it is not the entire truth. Julian White, though certainly niggled by an aching shoulder, has plenty in the tank for the resumption of club business today against Wasps in the Heineken Cup.

Much as John Wells, the Leicester head coach, would have us believe that his England forwards returned from the autumn internationals in bits and pieces, it is not the entire truth. Julian White, though certainly niggled by an aching shoulder, has plenty in the tank for the resumption of club business today against Wasps in the Heineken Cup.

The explanation is that at Twickenham last week the Australian scrum never allowed their hosts to "get into them", as White succinctly puts it.

"There was a lot of talk about their negative scrummaging," said White, "but it is effective and it negated what we were doing. We got a couple of decent shoves but it wasn't the pressure we hoped we would get. At international level you can't expect to shove everyone around, and though it was pleasing [the week before] against South Africa, it wasn't as good as we would have hoped against Australia. They get the ball in and out, and that's it."

Not being able to scrummage effectively is, to White, akin to Greg Rusedski being asked to serve underarm, or Roy Keane going through 90 minutes on best terms with a referee. It is by some distance the reason why the man being hailed by some as the planet's pre-eminent tighthead prop loves the game.

"Scrummaging is something I have always enjoyed," said White. "And it helps that there is a group of players at Leicester with like minds. I would love to be out there on the wing, scoring tries, believe me. But my priority will always be getting my scrum right, my line-out right, and making tackles. Getting my hands on the ball is a bonus - it doesn't seem to happen very often, that's all."

This last comment comes with a placid smile. Indeed, to encounter White on a squashy sofa at Leicester's training ground is like asking Neil Armstrong to a Little Chef to relate the story of the moon landing. We are so far from the furnace of the front row that it is a struggle to feel any of the heat. Nevertheless, with a few well-chosen words, the 31-year-old Devonian is looking forward to his own battle within a potentially uncivil English war today.

"I haven't played against [Wasps' All Black loosehead] Craig Dowd many times," he said, "but obviously he's got a big reputation. They have won the Premiership and the Heineken Cup and to go there and win will be a big ask, but I'm sure we can do that. If we lose this one it's going to make things very hard. We're not likely to make it any further, are we?"

The answer is that next Sunday's return match of the tastiest double-header since Godzilla took on King Kong might make up any shortfall suffered in this first meeting.

Still, any advantage gained today - even a bonus point in defeat - could prove decisive in a tight pool in which Biarritz also fancy their chances. Leicester and Wasps occupy first and second places in the Zurich Premiership with the Tigers ahead by eight points. They met in a 17-17 draw in High Wycombe a fortnight ago but that was while White and 16 others were absent on Test duty, injured or suspended. "We could have come back into a lesser game," said White, "but the Leicester coaches have put us in and we have got to show why we've been selected."

The need to prove a point is familiar territory. White is enjoying the best days of his career, but only in a roundabout way is he proof of the adage that props mature over the age of 30. He came to professional rugby late, when he joined Saracens from Bridgend in 1999. Before then, as White describes it, he "left home at the age of 16 or 17, went to college, lived in north Devon for a while, went travelling, lived in New Zealand for a couple of years, went to Wales, then to London, moved to Bristol - and now I'm here at Leicester."

White has been in plenty of scrapes - some of his own making, others not. He has been sent off three times in the Premiership, and served a 10-week ban while with Bristol in the autumn of 2002 for head-butting his future club-and-country colleague, Graham Rowntree. There was a career-threatening car crash in New Zealand, where White played for Hawke's Bay and once as a substitute for the Crusaders in the Super 12, and, when he arrived at Bridgend, an operation on a broken ankle by none other than J P R Williams.

Throw in a dust-up in a Devon pub, and it got to the stage where Clive Woodward was talking of last chances in the run-up to the 2003 World Cup. White made the trip and got his winner's medal and his MBE after a couple of appearances against Samoa and Uruguay. He then required a knee operation last December and missed the first three matches of the Six Nations' Championship.

Now, his principal England - and Lions - rival Phil Vickery is hors de combat with a back complaint, while White's outlook is uncommonly uncomplicated. "I've got another year and a half with Leicester," he said, "then we'll see. I've bought just under 200 acres of farmland in Devon, for sheep and cattle, and I might subsidise that with some coaching when I finish. I always worked on farms prior to rugby, it's all I've wanted to do."

In short, these are happy days - and all the happier if White makes Wasps' scrummaging life a misery in the next two weeks.