Big Cheese confident of Esher survival (From Your Local Guardian)

Big Cheese confident of Esher survival

11:57am Friday 17th February 2012 in Sport By Stuart Amos

Esher scrum half Tom Cheeseman has insisted he could cap a disappointing season at Molesey Road by helping the club avoid Championship relegation.

The former Bath centre helped director of rugby Mike Schmid’s men to only their second league win of the season with Saturday’s 24-14 triumph over fellow strugglers London Scottish.

Cheeseman missed the first half of the season after needing surgery on a shoulder injury picked up in a pre-season friendly at former employers Harlequins.

But he has returned to full fitness in time to be well in harness for the relegation play-offs.

“When I signed I was stepping down from the Premiership and I think Esher were hoping I would be fit,” he said.

“The main reason I joined was to play week in, week out, but I ripped the pectoral muscle away from the bone and needed surgery and it kept me out for more than 10 weeks.

“It has been a season of downs, but Saturday’s win was a big mental boost for everyone and, hopefully, we can finish the season on a high by keeping Esher in the Championship.”

Esher will be forced to release players if they are relegated with RFU funding dropping from around £320,000 to just £7,000 for National One clubs.

But Cheeseman says they have put all thoughts of contracts on the backburner for now.

“It’s the last thing on our minds at the moment to be honest. I think the best thing about this club is that we are quite tight as a unit,” he added.

“In all sports, every player wants to play at the highest level they possibly can and we know we’re all playing for contracts. But players don’t think about the future until it actually happens.

Esher recovered from a 14-3 half time deficit to beat the Exiles last weekend thanks to a brace from winger Phil Mackenzie and a try from flanker Peter Synott in the second half.

And Cheeseman, whose side visit fifth-placed Leeds Carnegie on Sunday, would like the winning feeling to continue.

“It was a relief to get the win. When we were 14-3 down I bet a few of the guys thought ‘here we go again’,” he added.

“Not to concede a point in the second half shows the spirit we have and results haven’t shown the quality we have in this squad.

“The win is a boost and I hope we can kick on.

“Being underdogs is probably the best thing you can be in sport. You have less pressure on you and you can play your rugby without any pressure.

“We feel we put a statement out with the win over Scottish and things are really coming together for us.”