Trinder: "If I can play well for Gloucester and keep pushing forward, then I will see what happens"
Trinder played 25 times for Gloucester last season and he was rewarded for his form.
©PA
Gloucester centre Henry Trinder believes he must continue to focus on his club rugby rather than having one eye on England and the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
At the end of last season, the 29- year-old received his first call-up to the national side for four years after suffering multiple injuries.
Shoulder and hamstring problems plus two anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions led to Trinder thinking about the possibility of retiring from the game, but an excellent season with Gloucester last year earnt him a place in England’s starting XV against the Barbarians back in May.
“It was massive for me in terms of getting through the season,” said Trinder, who scored 11 tries for the Cherry and Whites in the 2017/18 campaign.
“I had one or two knocks, but where I had been in previous seasons up to that one, it was a big step up playing in 25 or so games which is probably a record high for me! I enjoyed every minute of it.
“England was extra special for me. To go into that, be involved and be in Eddie Jones’s eye was fantastic for me and my confidence.
“If I can play well for Gloucester this season and keep pushing forward, then I will see what happens.”
The recent news regarding Jonathan Joseph’s absence from the upcoming Autumn internationals once again opens the door for the likes of Trinder to be part of Eddie Jones’s plans as England continue their preparations for the World Cup.
Henry Slade was Jones’s preferred choice to partner Owen Farrell in the centre during England’s summer tour of South Africa and Trinder does admit he hopes to be involved with the national side over the next year.
He added: “I would obviously love to but first things first, you have got to play well for Gloucester and you have got to be up in the table to get in there.
“So, for me, it is about having a good pre-season first, get through some games and make sure we are all going well here. If anything comes from that, I can focus on that, but at Gloucester, we want to be where we desire to be.”
Trinder is set to begin his 12th season at Kingsholm and the West Country outfit will be hoping to build on last year’s positivity.
Under Johan Ackermann, Gloucester produced a strong push for a top four spot and narrowly missed out on silverware in the European Challenge Cup final.
Trinder, who was part of the Gloucester squad who beat Ulster in last Saturday's pre-season match, is now keen for his side to harness the momentum they generated last season as they aim to carry that into their first Gallagher Premiership fixture against Northampton Saints on September 1st.
“I have been here a while!” Trinder said. “We have a great bunch of boys and the coaching staff they have brought in are obviously different and that’s sort of given a different vibe to the atmosphere and one that I think everyone is truly enjoying.
“We did quite well last season. Towards the end, we slipped off and that is something we want to change, but it is definitely a foot in the right direction and it is something to strive towards. If we can keep doing that and keep going forward, that’s where want to be.
"It has been a tough pre-season. It gets a bit harder every year! We have got some stuff we have been working on and hopefully we can start the season with a few good wins.”
