NTERVIEW
THOMAS
THE TANK
RUGBY MONTHLY sat down with Thomas Waldrom of the Exeter Chiefs to talk all things rugby and a lot more !
When you first meet Thomas you understand quickly that he is very serious about his “ job ” but is also warm , self-effacing , and has a great sense of humour .
Life , as we all know , can be a very stressful thing . For those at the very top of the tree , whether that be in business or elite sport , that stress and pressure must be even more magnified and it must be all too easy to become distant , arrogant , self-obsessed and totally removed from us mere mortals !
How refreshing it is therefore to come across a rugby player who is certainly at the very top of his profession with his club , but definitely isn ’ t any of the above and DEFINITELY doesn ’ t take himself too seriously !
We started by asking a bit about his time at Leicester Tigers
RM – “ Do you think you made the right decision , at the right time , to move from Leicester down to join The Chiefs ?”
TW – “ Definitely ! As a player you tend to know when your time is up and when it ’ s time to move and for me it felt that way at Leicester . After having spoken with and met Rob Baxter I was excited about the ambition at the club and the plans they had going forward .
Coming down here it ’ s a bit like what I have experienced before with Super Rugby , the club has their way of approaching things when it comes to training and the like but it ’ s all flexible .
You can discuss things in greater detail with the coaches and trainers and work things out . It makes the sessions more intense and makes you think on your feet a lot quicker . As a rugby player I really like that !”
RM – “ So we all know how last season finished for you guys , was the goal at the start of the season to win the Premiership and was that something you all believed would happen realistically ?”
TW – “ To be honest , one of the best things about this club is that we can all sit down at any time and have an open and honest discussion between ourselves , with some harsh words if necessary , but then resolve things quickly and move on in a positive way .
The season didn ’ t start the way we had planned but we spoke about it as a group and changed a few small things . That ’ s when our fortunes turned around and things started to go well . We definitely
6 RUGBY MONTHLY ISSUE 2 / SEPTEMBER 2017