Lock on key performance
After last week's outstanding display at the base of scrum, London Wasps' forward Mark Lock may feel like changing his surname by deed poll to Back Rower. However his number one priority is still to re-establish himself in the club's starting line-up.
In the absence of captain Lawrence Dallaglio, the Guinness Premiership champions faced a tough test against league leaders Sale last Sunday. But Lock stepped into the fill the vacant No8 shirt and produced an accomplished performance that led to a priceless 26-16 win.
The victory re-ignited Wasps' campaign after an indifferent sequence of results and has pushed Lock one step closer towards securing a starting berth.
Lock said: 'Firstly it was very important that we got the win that we needed. We hadn't been performing very well in the previous three games.
'That was encouraging that we beat them. With a few internationals missing it allowed me to start the game and I felt it went fairly well. The coaches were fairly pleased and the feedback I got from the other players was good, so, all-in-all, it was a good day.'
The 26-year-old endured a false start in the previous home match against Northampton because, after provisionally being selected to begin the fixture against Saints, he was left out of the team.
I'm going to try and keep playing the way that I did at the weekend
Dallaglio's brief England appearance in Italy meant that the talismanic forward was eligible for selection and Lock was the unlucky player forced to make way for his return. But, for the visit of the Sharks, Lock was assured that there would not be any last-minute alterations to the team line-up and he relished the chance to shine.
He said: 'When England had previously played over in Italy, I was meant to be starting, but then that was changed at the last minute. So this time they agreed that I would be starting - no matter what happened at Murrayfield.
'So it was easier for me and therefore I could prepare for that. They made me aware that I would start from the beginning of the game.'
Just after the half-hour mark, Lock picked up a facial wound and was taken off in order to receive treatment. But he was so hungry for game-time that his blood replacement - Dallaglio - was only one the pitch a matter of seconds.
He said: 'I hadn't been on the pitch for a while. My nose started to bleed, so it needed to be cleared up.
'I was brought off for literally one minute in order to wipe my nose. But it was nice to have a one minute break because I was blowing a bit.'
When it comes to trying to make the breakthrough at first-team level, Lock is fully aware of the sheer magnitude of the task after challenging for a place since joining the club in 1998. But he realizes that he is competing with the best in the business for a coveted spot in the starting XV.
it was nice to have a one minute break because I was blowing a bit
He stated: 'It has been tough. I think I'm in my seventh season in the squad and I've got seventy-odd appearances.
'That isn't a lot, but when you're behind a back-row of Dallaglio, Worsley, Volley and now O'Connor - all international players - you've got to accept that.
'If you want to stay at a club that is successful and enjoyable then that is just what you've got to do.
'My personal goals this season are to keep pushing for a place and play as many games as possible for the first team. I'm going to try and keep playing the way that I did at the weekend.'
