Bowden looking to take charge
New London Irish signing Dan Bowden says he is looking to take charge on the field of play during the new Premiership season.
Bowden signed for London Irish on a two-year deal earlier in the summer and arrives as one of the most exciting prospects the club have seen for a long time. He arrives with a big reputation and expectations around the team have been raised.
The club will be looking to make a push for a place towards the top of the table after a disappointing sixth place finish last season. The fans and staff of the club will be hoping that Bowden can score the points that will give them a chance of playing in the title play-off by the season's end.
Bowden has many qualities as a player that make him productive across all areas of the pitch. However, it's important that the club don't pin down all of their expectations and hopes to a single player.
Bowden's playing qualities
Bowden is a very exciting and busy player to watch. His pace and agility is amazing and this is something that allows him to get out of trouble in the attacking third of the pitch.
He arrives at the club with some impressive statistics to back him up. Bowden scored 111 points during the 2008/09 season playing for Otago and the Highlanders and he played a big part in the Crusaders team last season who lost to the Bulls in the semi-finals of the Super 14.
These statistics show that he is a very productive player who knows how to score. This will allow London Irish to put him right at the very top of the team and they know that if they get the ball up to him quickly then he has the ability to score a lot of points.
He said: "It's important to get out there and be a voice - if you look at the way we want to play at the game you need to be commanding. You need to take charge of the situation and the more I do that the more respect I get from the players."
A few worries
The worry is that the club will pin the weight of expectation for the coming season on the shoulders of the New Zealand man. This is very dangerous because he is just as vulnerable to pressure as any other player at the club.
There are strong suggestions that he may be named in some form of vice-captaincy role for the club because of his vocal presence on the field. However, this will mean additional responsibility, which will distract him from focusing on scoring points.
It's important that very experienced players and members of staff at the club, such as Mike Catt, step forward and help him to settle in quickly.
He added: "He hasn't been pushy [Mike Catt] getting me into anything full on. He's been easing me in and he's been trying to get some information off me about how to improve the team on a whole - It looks daunting but it's great because you want to play the best teams to test yourself. To play Toulon, Munster and Ospreys is going to be a great challenge."
Betting advice
The best option here is to go match by match because Bowden has never played Premiership rugby in England before. He will score a lot of points over the course of the season and you will make more money if you follow him with each game, as opposed to backing shorter odds for him to be top scorer by the end of the season.
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