Hello everyone,
From those who don’t know me, I’m Jackson and I’m rugby union player who has come through the ranks at Saracens, like Mark Noble and James Tomkins are here, and the fans really enjoy seeing us come through from a young age, playing for the junior and second teams.
There is a good group of us in the team at the moment from the same year-group in the Academy and we’re playing regularly now, which is brilliant.
It’s not an easy thing to do in either sport, to come through from the Academy and break into the first team and play regularly, so it’s been really good for us, for the club and for the supporters.
As a team, the year before last we had two finals in the Premiership and European Cup and two defeats, so we built on what we needed to do and went really well in both competitions.
We lost to a French club Clermont Auvergne in the European Cup, but won the Premiership, playing very well in the semi-finals and getting an away win at Northampton, which is one of the toughest places to go, and then carried that through to the final.
I was also been lucky enough to be called into an England training camp in summer 2014 and it was nice to see my name mentioned in the shake up for the upcoming World Cup, which we are hosting.
With the calibre of players at Saracens I didn’t quite get the games I needed before it was too late in the season, so I missed the boat a little bit. It was disappointing, but I picked it up and I was spoken about, which was good.
I know where I need to improve and to be near, especially in a competitive position like flanker where outstanding club players have not got anywhere near the England squad, was good. After the World Cup, I’ll have my next opportunity to I need to be ready and kick on over the next few years.
Talking of the World Cup, being in England it’s an opportunity for the country to put on a show and the game to continue to grow, as it has done over the past three or four years.
England are peaking at the right time and have a really good chance of doing really well. People say we are in a group of death with Australia, Wales, Uruguay and Fiji, but I think we will get through and then it’s knockout rugby and anything can happen.
I cannot wait to watch a match at our new Stadium in Stratford.
My Saracens teammate Jacques Burger is the captain of Namibia, who play New Zealand there. It will be a good opportunity to see what it’s all about on the inside. I’ve seen the outside and it looks like a special venue.
It will give a good indication of the atmosphere and what a sporting event will look like on the grass, so I’m looking forward to getting down there and seeing the vibe it gives.
I’ve seen some of the photos and videos and, as a West Ham fan, it looks like a phenomenal venue and opportunity for the Club and it’s great to see the Club taking a massive step forward.
Saracens have played at Wembley in the past and it’s been unbelievable, so I am sure playing at the Olympic Stadium would be the other venue in London where everyone would want to play, including myself!
Here's to a win at Manchester City on Saturday - and an England win over Fiji on Friday night!
*You can follow Jackson on Twitter @JacksonWray.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United.