“You’re notoriously late,” said Cardiff Blues press officer Gwydion Griffiths. “I’m not,” protested star fly-half Nicky Robinson, slipping down in his chair in mischievous fashion. “It’s just that things happen.”
And so they do. The 26-year-old is the club's all-time leading points scorer, his team are in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup for the first time since their inception as a region, he has 12 Welsh caps to his name and the Six Nations starts on Saturday.
But Robinson will be confined to the sofa, injured, and being injured is a testing time for rugby players. “When you’re fit your whole life is just training and rugby,” he said. “When that’s taken away it leaves a big void in your life which you have to try and fill.”
Which explains why he has one eye on the future and is planning for life after rugby despite his age. “I’ve done little bits for S4C. I’d like to do something now work-wise to get the experience to do a proper job as opposed to this when my career is over. It is hard because I don’t know what I want to do. I’ve never done anything other than rugby.”
Robinson is all too aware of the privileged position he is in at the moment. “It’d be hard to try and get the same kind of feelings you get from rugby in a job,” he said. “I know that’s not possible but if you can find something you enjoy...” His words tailed off in wistful acknowledgement that there is no substitute for being paid to play rugby.
But his mischievousness returned and, nodding in the direction of the press officer, he laughed. “Gwyd gets a lot of excitement out of his job.”
He called out, “Dream job for you this isn’t it, Gwyd. Working with all your heroes.” He laughed again. “Like me”.
Robinson’s appearances on S4C have caught the eyes of Welsh production companies and more work is in the pipeline but it is his performances on the pitch which have made him a household name in Wales and further-a-field.
And it is back to the pitch that he hopes to return as soon as possible after an operation before Christmas on a torn hip flexor muscle. “Obviously I’m constantly asking surgeons and physios, ‘how long, how long’ but they always say everyone’s different so it’s hard to give you a specific time.”
The specific time on everyone else's lips is the Blues’ Heineken Cup quarter-final showdown in Toulouse on April 6 against the favourites for the tournament.
“It’s a definite target, he said. “There’s not a huge amount of time between now and then really to get back into training and to get back to full fitness as well, which is obviously where you want to be if you’re playing against Toulouse in the quarter final of the Heineken Cup.”
His eyes lit up at the prospect of making the game but the sparkle belied his concerns. “We’re realistic. If I’m not fit then I’m not. It’s not as if I’m going to come back just to play in the game. You’ve got to try and think a bit bigger than that, obviously your career is a bit bigger than that.”
As if to emphasise his hopes though he added: “If I’m not fit it’ll be a massive disappointment.”
With a new coach at the helm of the national side Robinson knows now is the time to return, make his mark and put himself in contention for the fly-half berth along with James Hook and Stephen Jones.
“National honours is what you want,” he said. “That’s why you play rugby, to play at the highest possible level and that’s internationally. Whether that’ll be this season or next season I don’t know, it depends how quickly I come back, but it’s a definite goal.”
Robinson is not short on self-belief but there is an added incentive to return. His older brother, Jamie Robinson, 27, plays at outside centre for the Blues and the pair make a formidable partnership. “If you don’t know your brother's game then you know you’re struggling,” said Nicky.
“It’s good to have him there and there’s definitely a bit of competition. You don’t want the other one to get too much ahead of you with any caps or anything like that.”
Jamie has 23 caps for Wales compared to Nicky’s 12 but although part of the 2007 World Cup squad Jamie was overlooked in Warren Gatland’s first 22.
“I’ve got to catch him up actually,” Nicky added, making a mental note that will only increase his daily resolve. He might be last on the bus but Nicky Robinson is a player in a hurry to return to the heart of the Blues line-up and press for a return to the national stage.
And so they do. The 26-year-old is the club's all-time leading points scorer, his team are in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup for the first time since their inception as a region, he has 12 Welsh caps to his name and the Six Nations starts on Saturday.
But Robinson will be confined to the sofa, injured, and being injured is a testing time for rugby players. “When you’re fit your whole life is just training and rugby,” he said. “When that’s taken away it leaves a big void in your life which you have to try and fill.”
Which explains why he has one eye on the future and is planning for life after rugby despite his age. “I’ve done little bits for S4C. I’d like to do something now work-wise to get the experience to do a proper job as opposed to this when my career is over. It is hard because I don’t know what I want to do. I’ve never done anything other than rugby.”
Robinson is all too aware of the privileged position he is in at the moment. “It’d be hard to try and get the same kind of feelings you get from rugby in a job,” he said. “I know that’s not possible but if you can find something you enjoy...” His words tailed off in wistful acknowledgement that there is no substitute for being paid to play rugby.
But his mischievousness returned and, nodding in the direction of the press officer, he laughed. “Gwyd gets a lot of excitement out of his job.”
He called out, “Dream job for you this isn’t it, Gwyd. Working with all your heroes.” He laughed again. “Like me”.
Robinson’s appearances on S4C have caught the eyes of Welsh production companies and more work is in the pipeline but it is his performances on the pitch which have made him a household name in Wales and further-a-field.
And it is back to the pitch that he hopes to return as soon as possible after an operation before Christmas on a torn hip flexor muscle. “Obviously I’m constantly asking surgeons and physios, ‘how long, how long’ but they always say everyone’s different so it’s hard to give you a specific time.”
The specific time on everyone else's lips is the Blues’ Heineken Cup quarter-final showdown in Toulouse on April 6 against the favourites for the tournament.
“It’s a definite target, he said. “There’s not a huge amount of time between now and then really to get back into training and to get back to full fitness as well, which is obviously where you want to be if you’re playing against Toulouse in the quarter final of the Heineken Cup.”
His eyes lit up at the prospect of making the game but the sparkle belied his concerns. “We’re realistic. If I’m not fit then I’m not. It’s not as if I’m going to come back just to play in the game. You’ve got to try and think a bit bigger than that, obviously your career is a bit bigger than that.”
As if to emphasise his hopes though he added: “If I’m not fit it’ll be a massive disappointment.”
With a new coach at the helm of the national side Robinson knows now is the time to return, make his mark and put himself in contention for the fly-half berth along with James Hook and Stephen Jones.
“National honours is what you want,” he said. “That’s why you play rugby, to play at the highest possible level and that’s internationally. Whether that’ll be this season or next season I don’t know, it depends how quickly I come back, but it’s a definite goal.”
Robinson is not short on self-belief but there is an added incentive to return. His older brother, Jamie Robinson, 27, plays at outside centre for the Blues and the pair make a formidable partnership. “If you don’t know your brother's game then you know you’re struggling,” said Nicky.
“It’s good to have him there and there’s definitely a bit of competition. You don’t want the other one to get too much ahead of you with any caps or anything like that.”
Jamie has 23 caps for Wales compared to Nicky’s 12 but although part of the 2007 World Cup squad Jamie was overlooked in Warren Gatland’s first 22.
“I’ve got to catch him up actually,” Nicky added, making a mental note that will only increase his daily resolve. He might be last on the bus but Nicky Robinson is a player in a hurry to return to the heart of the Blues line-up and press for a return to the national stage.
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