AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Say this for England’s latest New Zealand-born player: When Thomas Waldrom is given a chance, he doesn’t waste it.
Waldrom officially joined the England squad at the weekend after training in limbo while the management waited to see how Nick Easter’s sore back was healing. The recovery wasn’t quick enough for England’s liking, so Waldrom was summoned to bolster the loose forward stocks, and replaced injured prop Andrew Sheridan in the 30-man squad.
“I was surprised,” he said Monday. “It has been a bit crazy but enjoyable.”
There’s no guarantee the uncapped No. 8 will play in the World Cup as England need to at least draw with Scotland in its last pool match to secure a quarterfinals berth. But Waldrom can’t be ruled out, because it’s unlikely anyone in the England contingent has rode his luck better in the past year.
When Waldrom joined English powerhouse Leicester in the 2010 northern summer, he knew he was never going to follow his older brother Scott’s lead and play for the New Zealand All Blacks. Thomas Waldrom played for New Zealand Under-19s and 21s, and helped the Maori win the 2006 Churchill Cup and 2008 Pacific Nations Cup, the latter with the game-winning try against Australia’s second-string team.
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He played more than 100 first-class games in New Zealand, but he was mainly a backup to Rodney So’oialo at the Wellington Hurricanes, then Kieran Read in the Canterbury Crusaders. So it was easy to look overseas for new motivation.
Leicester’s former All Blacks Craig Newby and Scott Hamilton eased his transition a year ago, and constant injuries to Jordan Crane, the England Saxons captain, gave Waldrom playing time. At the end of the last season, Waldrom was named the Premiership players’ player of the year, ahead of England winger Chris Ashton. He admitted to voting for flanker Tom Wood, the Premiership player of the year.
This year, Waldrom learned he was eligible for England through his grandmother. He thought he’d have to qualify on three years’ residency but was so excited by the possibility of qualifying by ancestry that he woke his mother at 4 a.m. New Zealand time to confirm it. The proud New Zealander said he had no problem dealing with a new allegiance.
“It would be a great honour to put the (England) shirt on,” Waldrom said at the time. “It would be a privilege to play against the All Blacks if the chance came along, and would be a chance for me to show them just how good I am.”
Waldrom was part of England’s preliminary World Cup squad but was among the first cut in August because a calf muscle injury meant he couldn’t practice. Three matches into the new club season, however, he was called up by England, and spent the flight to New Zealand reading the team’s playbook. He’s the third New Zealander in England’s squad beside hooker Dylan Hartley and centre Shontayne Hape.
While standing by in New Zealand to find out his fate with the England squad, Waldrom said, “I’ve just been keeping myself busy so I don’t fall asleep during the day.
“I think you just have to go to training, learn all the calls and just see what happens,” he added. “If you don’t perform, you’re just not going to get the callup.”
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