Link man with right connections

IT'S NEITHER a misty eyed story of an Anglo Irish player discovering his roots, or an account of a rugby player discovering an Irish passport of convenience. This is a Sri Lankan/Anglo Irishman after all, so his route to the Irish number nine shirt was bound to be circuitous.

Christian Saverimutto's father; hailed from Sri Lanka. Christian grew up in Liverpool, the second of three sons. Christian's maternal, Dublin grandparents gave him his Irish ancestry. But by no stretch of the imagination should we envisage a comely maiden by the fireplace, bouncing Alastair, Christian and Robin on her knee, while telling stories of the old Emerald sod back home.

"Not at all," concedes Saverimutto. "There was never really an Irish link at home." Indeed, he even concedes that when the Irish Exiles first asked him to emulate his younger brother, Robin, and declare for them, he hesitated.

Initially, I was hesitant, on the back of the fact that I was in the English system. I was in the English students' team then, so I said I'd leave it for a while."

Two years ago, there was the somewhat curious story of Christian and Robin Saverimutto attending the Ireland England game at Lansdowne Road. Nothing odd about that, except that the day beforehand, Christian had played for the English students' against their Irish counterparts, while Robin had played in a victorious Irish under 21 team against their English contemporaries.

Something else happened which rather took Christian by surprise. He'd always been conscious of Irish hospitality and warmth, but he became a little intoxicated by the Lansdowne Road atmosphere.

"Having the Irish roots and the Irish ancestry, I felt a sense of belonging. That day I was cheering the Irish even though I was still in the English system. Genuinely, I was so pleased when they beat them."

Last August he decided to "give it 100 per cent" with Ireland. "And fortunately, and surprisingly, and amazingly, it all happened so quickly. I'm absolutely delighted."

Things worked in his favour. As injury struck the incumbent, Niall Hogan, Saverimutto had a useful seasonal opener with the Exiles in France. As he admits himself: "everybody needs a lucky break, a good game at the right time".

Three weeks before the Fijian game, Murray Kidd went to West Hartlepool for a English League division one game involving Saverimutto's club, Sale. "I thought it was a wind up," Saverimutto confesses.

"We were travelling up to West Hartlepool and somebody who had a paper said: `oh, the new Irish coach is coming to watch you'. I said `you must be kidding' and he showed me the paper. It was a big league game anyway, but all of a sudden, the importance of it was 10 times greater on a personal level, because I knew then that for him to come over a few weeks before the first international, he must be seriously considering me."

It hardly showed and what followed was instructive as regards Saverimutto's temperament. Paul Turner, the flamboyant Welsh international who is out half and coach at Sale, recalls it was him who told Saverimutto on the team bus. "There was no hint of nerves."

Saverimutto says, matter of factly: "I'm very much a guy who rises to the occasion." Sale won well and by both men's estimation Saverimutto played well, if slightly within himself. "Nothing terribly flashy," he says. "Just a good solid game from myself."

Having learnt of his selection for the Fijian game, from BBC's Rugby Special while at home with his parents (a champagne Sunday dinner ensued), the same postscript could have been applied to his impressively solid, if unspectacular, displays against Fiji and the US.

"His service is up there at the top of the tree really. I've not played with a lot better as regards passing the ball," says Turner. "He's a good kicker of the ball, especially the box kick. Playing the fringes is another good part of his game. His defence certainly needs brushing up, but playing international rugby will develop his game, especially if it's a winning side.

"We've always said if Ireland only organised themselves better they'd be even more dangerous," says Turner. "I think if that's the case, and I believe it is with the New Zealand guy you've got there now, then Savi can only get better. We'll obviously benefit from it, although a number of clubs will probably be chasing him now that's the way the game is going. But certainly he can add more strings to his bow. It's a good spotlight for him to be performing in."

Passing wasn't Saverimutto's strongest suit at the outset. "Fortunate to be sent to a rugby playing school - St Anselm's College, Birkenhead - in predominantly football territory, other virtues promoted Saverimutto to the school captaincy and the county school side.

"The strong point of my game was my running and my attacking, and my passing was my weakness." Encouraged to work on this, and using his idol Richard Hill ("he used to work 200 passes a day") as a role model, Saverimutto developed "speed of service and speed of thought" as his primary attributes.

"Consistency and accuracy, you've got to have that. If the pass is half a yard behind the man then I'm kicking myself, whether it's training or a match. I'm a perfectionist and I like to do everything right."

His redefined attributes became more and more recognised. He followed his elder brother, Alasdair, into the English colts without making the team, similar frustration befalling him with the English under 21's. While studying surveying at Sheffield University, he played for the English Students and Waterloo, though it was the move to Sale two years ago and the guiding hand of Turner which really expanded Saverimutto's horizons.

"He's very unorthodox in the way he plays. He's sort of sleight of hand and back passes here and there. Nobody really knows what he's going to do next and it's entertaining rugby. I've learnt a lot just about the timing of the pass, how to take defenders and beat them with the ball. He's developed not only me, but the whole Sale team, into quite a formidable side now.

Eric Elwood is the latest out half he has had to get acquainted with. "Eric does a lot of talking, which is good. I like a fly half who talks. It helps my game if they're saying `Savi, Savi, the blindside is on, or whatever it is. It all helps."

Saverimutto has the capacity to break - his fellow English based teammates confirm as much - but for Irish fans to see more of that, Turner believes a certain responsibility rests with Elwood and his lines of communication with the new scrum half.

One attacking weapon of Saverimutto's which Turner has encouraged at Sale, and would like to see utilised by Ireland, is what he calls the scrum half's "off the top ball", fired out from the line out.

It's a ploy that they use in New Zealand and sometimes it goes past the out half and hits the inside centre straight away. It actually moves the ball from A to D rather than A to B. It allows you to get over the gain line quickly.

"I think he's probably one of the few players in the international game who can do that. Then you can attack from further out. He's got two strong wrists and he can throw the ball around. Not many scrum halves can do that."

There's more to Saverimutto than his passing, but, as Turner points out, that was primarily what he was picked for.

The line between a good and a bad performance for a scrum half is very fine. A couple of badly timed breaks could be the difference, and, of course, the stakes are higher now.

Saverimutto and Turner continually extol the virtues of "keeping your feet on the ground". This is new territory, too, for Saverimutto, and you sense he's treading carefully. "It's changed my life. In the last two or three months, my life has completely changed."

It's liable to change further, too. "At the moment I'm a full time, professionally chartered surveyor, but since the game has become professional and you can earn money from it, there's going to come a point fairly shortly - I would say in the next one to two years - where I'm going to have to make a decision." Ideally, he would like to marry the two, "but, as I say, it's one game at a time for me".

"I'll concentrate on Saturday's game and if I play well and keep my; place in the team, then it's one game to the next. I'm not approaching the question of becoming a full time pro until I'm in a position where I can do it properly."

With professionalism has come a more professional outlook within the Irish squad. "From speaking to the boys, it's completely different, a lot more disciplined, well planned and more professional. It's going to be a tough game and I wouldn't want to say we're going to win or lose. But the boys are confident. There's so much desire to win the game."

Be it adopted Kiwis or Anglo Irish or even Sri Lankan/Anglo Irish, the desire is the same. Anyone doubting it can rest assured. "When you put that jersey on the passion and the pride from everybody is just incredible and that's one of the great things about Irish teams. It's 15 normal human beings converted into 15 supermen when that Irish jersey is on. From whatever background or origins, once that green jersey is on your back and a shamrock on your chest, it's amazing."

This could get misty eyed yet.