Birthday for evergreen Shaw

Auckland - In sporting terms, when you are as old as England lock Simon Shaw it is best to hide your age, so the lock's delayed departure to New Zealand for the World Cup was a blessing as his team mates missed his mid-air 38th birthday.

An upset stomach meant Shaw waited behind as his team mates left for Auckland so the second row was flying to Auckland on Thursday, his birthday.

"They weren't really aware of it and I didn't want to highlight it either," Shaw told two reporters on Saturday about his decision to keep his birthday a secret from his team mates.

"On the plane, they (the airline staff) put on the screen it was my birthday and presented me with a little slice of cake with a candle on it which was all a little bit embarrassing. There was a little group (singing for me)"

Shaw is defying the odds to take part in New Zealand with so many rugby players forced to retire before 30 because of the demands of the professional game.

He says he is as surprised as anyone that he is still competitive in a game that has quickened considerably since he started in 1990 and following a career-threatening ankle break and double dislocation before the 1995 World Cup.

However, he recovered and enjoyed a stellar international career which he again thought had ended in heartbreak four years ago after losing the World Cup final to South Africa in Paris.

"I am just over the moon to be here because my feelings on the day at the final whistle were something I never want to experience again," Shaw said at the team's hotel in central Auckland on another cold day on the north island.

"I looked around... everybody looked sad and unhappy but I was just devastated.

"I kind of put that down to the fact that I felt at the time there was no way I would be here (at a World Cup final) again and a lot of these guys were young enough to experience that again or at least have a chance, so to be here is incredible, hopefully I will be able to put that right."

Shaw's career began in the amateur days of rugby and he has experienced a whole load of changes as the game evolved through professionalism although he admits, despite his age, he has few words of wisdom to offer his younger team mates.

"The game changes every year so the advice I have to offer about what it was like 10 years ago is probably completely irrelevant," Shaw said.

"You learn something new everytime you go out and train.

"They were showing the semi-final of the 95 World Cup last night on TV. Just watching the difference in the game to what it is now and it makes me incredibly proud that I am still capable of playing at this level."

Shaw, who stands 2.03 metres and weighs 122 kilogrammes, has won 68 caps for his country although his role has become more of an impact player for England in recent matches under his former team mate and now manager Martin Johnson.

"I seem to have carved a position out for myself on the bench. Then I get 20 minutes to run around like a lunatic."

Shaw's first chance will be on Sept. 10 against Argentina in Dunedin before facing old rivals Scotland, then Georgia and Romania in Pool B.

Shaw, who was involved in the roller coaster form that was England's 2007 campaign where they stuttered badly in the group stages before finding their way in the knockout stages with impressive wins over France and Australia believes an opening win could be key for morale.

"Argentina in our first game is a real positive, because if we can beat them and beat them well it sets you off, whatever happens before the tournament it is all about what you do when the tournament starts and how you evolve during the tournament," he said.

But a victory against Los Pumas, who stunned most with their third place finish four years ago, will not be easy Shaw warned.

"Above all other teams they seem to have an element of passion over and above anything they are going to achieve by organisation.

"Just through their performances through past world cups you can see it and having played them just before in one-off tests that don't mean an awful lot they are still the same and it is always an incredibly tough test when you play them."