Gloucester winger James Simpson-Daniel tells The Guardian that he will do all he can to force his way into Martin Johnson's World Cup squad.
"Should James Simpson-Daniel regain his England place between now and next year's World Cup the credit will not be his alone. He already acknowledges a debt to his wife, Lucy, who is forced to cope with "the grump" on her sofa if the afternoon's game has gone badly. The couple's month-old baby son, George, has also helped him to develop a sense of perspective during the long, nervous wait for Saturday to come. Last, and clearly not least, he will owe the Guardian a beer for persuading him, starting today, to ditch the ill-fated superstition he has clung to since he was a schoolboy.
"It has been a compulsion for 12 years, long enough for the threadbare sole and heel to have shredded completely, but Simpson-Daniel has finally cracked. Against Leeds at Kingsholm his fond ritual of wearing a single navy blue Adidas stocking under his match socks will be quietly abandoned. It is not before time. He has won 10 caps for England but knows it could have been 50-odd. Who else but the endearing "Sinbad" would still reach for a "lucky" sock having suffered more untimely set-backs than any player of his generation?''
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