Varndell keen to complete return in style

Leicester winger Tom Varndell is determined to fire the Tigers to Guinness Premiership glory against Wasps on Saturday and seal a “brutal” route back to the top of English rugby.

Leicester winger Tom Varndell is determined to fire the Tigers to Guinness Premiership glory against Wasps on Saturday and seal a “brutal” route back to the top of English rugby.

Varndell exploded onto the scene in the 2005/06 season as a teenager fresh from school, a star of the England Sevens team boasting blistering pace and an eye for the line.

That season he made a try-scoring England debut off the bench against Samoa and was fast-tracked into Andy Robinson's squad for the summer tour to Australia.

It was a disaster. Varndell was bullied by Wallabies winger Lote Tuqiri as England were trounced and within four months Leicester had farmed him out on loan to first division Bedford.

Two years on and Varndell is a bigger and tougher man, both mentally and physically, and he finished the regular season as the Premiership's leading try-scorer.

Varndell still nurses the scars from that painful experience but is convinced it was worth the effort – and against Wasps he is determined to prove it.

“When I played my first England game I was 19. I am 22 now. I am a lot wiser as a player. I think I am a better rugby player,” said Varndell.

“Back then I was fresh out of school. I got chucked onto a tour of Australia where we got thumped.

“Tuqiri is one of the best wingers in the world and he taught me a lot about the game, about the physicality of the international stage.

“I was all over the place. I came back to the club and got farmed out on loan to Bedford.

“That learning process was brutal but I learned a lot from it. It has taken two years but I have come back a stronger player.”

Varndell finished the regular season with 13 tries from 21 appearances and it was his brilliant solo effort late in the game against Harlequins that sealed the Tigers an unlikely place in the Premiership semi-finals.

But things have not always been easy in a turbulent campaign for the Tigers. Marcelo Loffreda took charge after the World Cup and Varndell had to prove himself all over again.

He was not best pleased, for example, when Loffreda left him out of the EDF Energy Cup final defeat to the Ospreys – but the new Varndell was able to deal with the disappointment.

“I used to be very much a confidence player and when things went bad my head would drop,” he explained.

“But I have had a lot to deal with in the last few years. My girlfriend has had a baby and the new family has given me an extra focus outside of the game.

“Life is not just rugby, rugby, rugby and I enjoy that responsibility. It has calmed me down a bit and it is good for me.

“It has taken time to set my marker down on the wing position but I think I have proven to Marcelo I have the passion to get into his team.”

Despite a successful season, Varndell missed out on an England call-up to London Irish winger Topsy Ojo and will spend the summer in Churchill Cup action with the Saxons.

Varndell wants his England place back desperately but the sore experiences of 2006 have left him wary of taking too big a leap too soon.

“I want to play for England again and I want to be a regular in the England side but after what happened before I don't want to be chucked straight into it again,” he said.

“Yes I am the top try scorer but I want to build my way back into the England squad. That is much better than being chucked straight back in for a tour to New Zealand.”

Varndell's immediate targets are to be included in England's elite squad next season followed by selection for the autumn internationals and Six Nations.

But first and foremost, he wants victory over Wasps tomorrow to seal a successful Tigers title defence in what has been a tough season at Welford Road.

“Everyone knows we have had an up and down season but we are in the final and that is all that matters,” he added.

“There have been a lot of doubters but we have done well enough to get to the final and now we have to take the opportunity.

“This is as big as it comes. Wasps have been our main rivals for years now.

They are a very dangerous side and they have beaten us in these big games before.

“But we don't want that to happen again. We want to finish on a high – and with Lawrence Dallaglio retiring, it would be lovely to ruin his party!”