Six Nations 2016 Ireland vs Wales: Jamie Roberts - With my batteries recharged and my partner back, I'm ready to attack

I have thoroughly enjoyed my return to the pro ranks with Harlequins. My mission there is to make Mike Brown smile!

Wales centre Jamie Roberts (Getty Images)

I was perusing YouTube and came across Steve Jobs’ graduation speech at Stanford University the other day and his message was that you can only do great work if you truly love what you do. And driving back to the team hotel for the first time since the World Cup, I was struck by that and almost a sense of nostalgia.

Those few minutes coming up the driveway to the Vale hotel stir a lot of memories, of both good times and bad.

The Jobs sentiment struck a chord for me, as rugby has an ability to feel like a treadmill at times, but it’s something in the past few months I’ve been able to appreciate more than ever before, I think.

It’s well known I took a bit of a break from the professional game and it’s not the case that it was a relief to do that, but it was needed to look after my body.

This Six Nations is huge and likewise the next year or so building up to the British & Irish Lions tour, so it felt like the time to step back properly, recharge the body and rehab and look after those past injuries.

But it was as much a life decision as it was a rugby decision. With regard to the latter part, I’ve been able to have fun without the pressure on the rugby field and to play with a smile on my face.

In a strange way, life has been even more hectic, simply in the case that it’s been far removed from what I was used to.

I had a great time with my few months in Cambridge working on my MPhil, which is basically a research degree, and it’s great to have been able to get back to that medical way of thinking, and to use a part of my brain that’s lain dormant while I’ve just been focusing on the rugby.

It’s hard not to feel inspired in a place like Cambridge. You just walk around the place and you see the history, you have an awareness of the great people who have passed through the place, and it’s like a big, big shadow that envelops and inspires you.

And what that’s given me is a changed perspective, the opportunity really to appreciate the game and, most importantly, I play my rugby at my best when I’m happy and enthused, and that’s where I am right now.

On a roll

This week my dad pointed out to me that tomorrow’s game against Ireland will be my 31st consecutive Six Nations start.

It actually feels pretty crazy to think that I’ve been involved in every one of those games since the start of the 2010 tournament. Again, the nostalgia creeps in as it feels like that aspect of my career has gone by in a flash.

It’s great to have Jonathan Davies back alongside me in the centre – for the poor bugger, come the weekend, will have had that dubious pleasure for 40 of his 49 caps.

But I know how gutted he was to miss the World Cup with injury and it’s great to have him back. He’s a quality player and a quality bloke, and when you’ve played with someone as much as I have with Jon you pick up a great understanding.

World Cup learning curve

Professional rugby is a bit of a rollercoaster and the World Cup was no different. We got within a whisker of the semi-finals and even now that’s still hard to take.

But I suppose with every campaign you go through you improve and we need to improve on aspects of our game from the World Cup.

I thought our defence was outstanding in the tournament and the fact that we conceded only three tries against the calibre of opposition we were facing says it all, really. It was magnificent from the boys game in, game out. But there’s certainly room for improvement, notably the fact we can be more clinical in attack.

There’s been talk of a more attacking mindset in this Six Nations and, as a player, you love to hear that. You want to get your hands on the ball more, have more opportunities and, ultimately, score more tries.

Changing of the guard

It’s great to see Tom James back in a Wales shirt. I’ve grown up with him, and we both came through the Cardiff Blues academy together.

He’s worked incredibly hard to get back and deserves his chance to start, on the form he’s been showing for the Blues.

He’s learned a hell of a lot while at Exeter and I’m excited to play alongside him. He’s a very aggressive and explosive player and, if we can put him in space, he can have a devastating effect.

The other back-line change is Gareth Anscombe at full-back to tackle the obvious aerial threat that’s going to come from Ireland.

I think the Irish use that aspect of the game more than any other side and I’m well versed with how it works, having played with Jonny Sexton at Racing. That aerial bombardment has very much become part of Ireland’s DNA.

The Irish threat

I’ve got a lot of memories of playing Ireland: some great ones and some less great ones.

There’s that World Cup win over them in 2011 and the victory in Dublin the following year. But then there’s that opening Six Nations defeat back in 2013, which acted as our springboard eventually to win that year’s Six Nations, as well as losses in Dublin in 2010 and 2014.

So this is huge. If we win, it’s the ideal start, particularly with three sold-out games at home to follow. Again, our defence needs to be superb.

Life at Quins

As for me, I come into the tournament with a lot of confidence as I’ve been fortunate not to have lost a game since returning to the pro ranks with Harlequins, playing five, winning four and having that draw at Twickenham against Gloucester.

They’re a great bunch of lads and it’s a great set-up. Obviously, Conor O’Shea is off next season, which is a shame for me and all the boys, but I know every one of them was quick to congratulate him on whatever his next move is.

It’s good to get to know some of the England guys in the squad, Mike Brown being a case in point. I’ve made it my quest to try to make him a happier man!

I know he didn’t necessarily help himself or endear himself to Welsh fans and the wider Welsh public with that interview he did after the World Cup but he’s a passionate and good guy. I’ve had a lot of fun with him and the other Quins boys.

As for England under Eddie Jones, it’ll be interesting to see how they fare. I’ve only met Eddie a couple of times briefly and the expectation is that he will have a galvanising effect. England have great strength in depth and the players will want to prove that to the new coach. The same with France. It promises to be the most open Six Nations in a long time.