Long shot! Andy's back from the sun for final bid with Northampton

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UPDATED:

20:54 GMT, 11 May 2012

There aren’t many players who have used a spell in Valladolid as a route back to Twickenham, but that’s how it could work out for Andy Long. He didn’t imagine a day like this would come again when he was in sunny Spain, contemplating retirement.

Whatever happens at The Stoop on Saturday, Northampton’s former England hooker has achieved a remarkable triumph of determination, dedication and perseverance.

At 34, Long is enjoying one of the most satisfying periods of a career that was all but over three years ago. Victory against Harlequins in the Aviva Premiership semi-final this afternoon would take him back to HQ – the scene of his Test debut which ultimately served as an ‘awesome’ but damaging experience.

Final fling: Andy Long hopes to help Northampton reach Twickenham

Yet, whether or not the Saints can claim a place in the final by winning at the home of the club who finished top of the league, the personal feat for Long is simply being an active player in the elite game again. This will be his 10th successive start for Northampton and his form has been sufficiently impressive to delay a move into coaching, by earning a summer move to Gloucester.

Back in 2009, the whole scenario would have been unthinkable, as he departed to a backwater of European rugby. ‘I wasn’t offered another contract at Newcastle and I didn’t know where my career was going,’ said Long.

In hard: Andy Long (front) in action

‘A guy I’d played with at Newcastle, Joe McDonnell, was playing over in Spain and I thought that I fancied trying something a bit different. I’d just got married and my wife said, “Come on, let’s go over there”. So we went to Spain and I joined was Cetransa El Salvador, in Valladolid, just north of Madrid.

‘The rugby was pretty average, but the weather was good! I really enjoyed it, but then Phil Dowson – another guy I’d played with at Newcastle, who had moved to Northampton – emailed me and said, “What are you doing We need a hooker.” I’d only been in Spain for a few months, but my agent spoke to the club and we did a deal. Within 10 days I was packing up and coming home.’

Once he had returned, Long had to bide his time and the endless wait to prove his enduring worth began to wear him down. ‘To start with, I was keen and wanted to impress, but then gradually as the opportunities didn’t come, I thought, “This isn’t what I came back here for”,’ he said. ‘But I just dug in and kept going. I kept believing and pushing for an opportunity.’

One by-product of the frustrating lack of game-time – exacerbated by an injury early this season – was that it allowed Long to pursue his coaching ambitions, at National One side Cambridge. ‘I started that last summer and thoroughly enjoyed it,’ he said. ‘Unfortunately, Cambridge lost all their money halfway through the season so they couldn’t afford to pay coaches and players.

‘It was quite funny really, because we played Stourbridge, who were being coached by Chris Fortey (Worcester hooker). He was coaching their forwards and I was coaching the Cambridge forwards. Neither of us were playing at the time, but come the last game of the season, he was playing for Worcester and I was playing for Saints.’

Rejuvenated: Long (right) is enjoying a run of games at Northampton

In time, Long is keen to coach in the Premiership, but he’s relishing the sudden chance to play again, brought on by Saints captain Dylan Hartley being suspended and the club’s other young hookers suffering injuries.

‘I’ve started the last nine games and the latest one was my 200th in the Premiership,’ he said. ‘That is a milestone that I’d wondered if I would ever reach. It’s been one of the most enjoyable spells of my career. From almost thinking about retiring, to being so close to being in a Premiership final is incredible.’

Should Northampton beat Quins, Long would most likely feature as a replacement in the final, with Hartley free to play again by then. It would take him back to Twickenham, where he was propelled into the England team in 1997, at the age of 20, by new coach Clive Woodward, only to be replaced at half-time against Australia and abruptly ditched. He played just one more time for his country.

‘It was tough, going straight into a fierce environment I’d never been in before,’ he said. ‘Then to fall out of it like I did – not going down to England ‘A’ or being supported – I don’t think that would happen now. Things could have been different.

Debut to forget: Long (right) struggled during his first England game

‘Don’t get me wrong, I loved the experience. That week leading up to the Australia game was just amazing. It was the dawn of a new era, Clive Woodward coming in, so it was a really big week. Running out at Twickenham was amazing for me and my family. It was awesome. But who knows what might have happened if I’d been drip-fed into it. When I won my second cap, Clive said afterwards, “I wanted to get you off that one cap”. I think it was on his mind.’

The saga of his fleeting Test career stopped being on Long’s mind a long time ago. He’s just glad to be playing, competing and earning his just reward for persevering.

HARLEQUINS: Brown; Williams, Lowe, Turner-Hall, Smith; Evans, K Dickson; Marler, Gray, Johnston; Kohn, Robson; Fa’asavalu, Robshaw (capt), Easter. Subtitutes: Buchanan, Lambert, Collier, Vallejos, Guest, Bolt, Clegg, Hopper.

NORTHAMPTON: Foden; Ashton, Pisi, Downey, Diggin; Lamb, L Dickon (capt); Tonga’uiha, Long, Mukati; Sorenson, Day; Craig, Dowson, Wilson.Substitutes: McMillan, Waller, Doran-Jones, Nutley, Harrison, Roberts, Myler, May.

TV: LIVE on Sky Sports 1 from 2.30pm (Kick-off 2.45pm).