Four years in France have refreshed scrum-half’s outlook and he thinks his club can make their mark this season
Most players returning home from the French Top 14 have had a life-enhancing experience and Dan Robson is the latest example. The former England scrum-half spent four seasons in the shadow of the Pyrenees with Pau, mixing it with the likes of Antoine Dupont and Maxime Lucu, before rejoining his first Prem employers, Gloucester, this summer. “No more croissants for breakfast,” he sighs, slightly wistfully. “But it’s good to be back. My waistline is thanking me.”
Ask him how much he would recommend a spell abroad to others, though, and the word “amazing” swiftly follows. Not only were his two young sons, Laker and Roux, born in Pau – “It’s always going to have a special place in our hearts as a family” – but he also much enjoyed his regular meetups with Jack Willis, a close mate at Wasps before the club’s financial collapse forced both to start afresh across the Channel.
