When New Zealand play at Twickenham next month memories will be stirred of one of the shorter England careers. In the same fixture on 5 November 2006, after 23 games as a professional, Anthony Allen ran out against the All Blacks. A week later the Gloucester centre played against Argentina. Since then there has been nothing.
Both games were memorable for defeats and interceptions. "Only one was mine, the New Zealand one, the other against Argentina was someone else," said Allen this week, admitting that the Test call might have come a bit early. Barely 20, he left the England camp and the coach Andy Robinson was not long in following him.
Roll forward three years and Allen says he has not heard a word from Twickenham since. For the moment he has other things on his mind and another unfulfilled aspect of his career – success in the Heineken Cup. In the summer Allen switched from Gloucester to Leicester, from a club that has promised much in Europe and elsewhere to one that has a habit of delivering. While the Welford Road side have back-to-back titles to their name, plus three other finals, Kingsholm has had to settle for one semi-final – lost to Leicester in 2001 – and a series of hard-luck stories that usually involve Munster. There have been highs, like the opening game in 2007 when Gloucester ran in four tries in less than 20 minutes against Ulster at Ravenhill, but they so often flopped on the big days.
"People tend to forget Gloucester's successes," said Allen, pointing to a runaway win in the league in 2008 when they finished the regular season 14 points clear, only to foul up at Twickenham in the play-offs. But he is at a loss to say why Gloucester were so inconsistent. "When we were playing well, when we'd had one good game, we just expected it to go on," he says. "And then on the big days..."
But that has been the way ever since Allen left Millfield with high expectations. Instead of signing for Harlequins, where there were family ties, he listened to Olly Morgan and Ryan Lamb, whom he had played with either at school or for England schools, and signed for Nigel Melville and Gloucester. He joined the same week as Mike Tindall moved from Bath.
"Harlequins were going down and they said it was good at Gloucester, so I signed. But within weeks Melville had gone and Dean Ryan was in charge." By last season Ryan had put together arguably the strongest squad in England. However, while Leicester were battling to another league title and the Heineken final, Ryan's men were going down to the 14-men of Cardiff and out of Europe at the pool stages.
What makes Allen feel he will do better with Leicester? What's the difference between the two giants. He struggles for an answer but mentions "professionalism" and the all-enveloping nature of life at Leicester. Gloucester shared their training base with students whereas Leicester's Oadby headquarters were tailor-made. "Here it's more physical," says Allen "and the coaching can be one-to-one."
And then there is food. Allen says he, Lamb – another of the many to leave Gloucester in the summer – and Morgan took turns rustling up lunch whereas the more diet conscious at Leicester literally get theirs on a plate. Certainly Leicester were keen to have him, as Richard Cockerill, their head coach, pointed out this week during preparations for the match against the Ospreys on Sunday. He suggested that Allen's career had stalled at Kingsholm.
"Sometimes guys get a little lost and sometimes things get a little stale and that's what happened at Gloucester," Cockerill said. "It's not a Gloucester thing or a Leicester thing. We've had guys go from here and that's the way the game is. But he's at a place where he is allowed to make decisions and talk for the first time and that's coming out in the way he is playing.
"We need to bring out his rugby intelligence and his reading of the game but he's very good on his feet and understands the game very well; a very intelligent young man. He's still only 23, he's been playing in the Premiership for four years, he has two caps for his country and there is certainly potential there," said the head coach.
And if Allen's career has been kick-started, then his durability is a godsend for Cockerill. While Toby Flood and Sam Vesty are yet to play a game this season and Aaron Mauger is only occasionally able to last 80 minutes, Allen has been ever present, playing at inside or outside centre as the injury list demands. In fact the newcomer with an eye on Heineken silverware is the only Leicester player to have started all five games so far.
