IRISH eyes were smiling two years ago when James Brown helped his side lift the Powergen Cup.
Tomorrow, Worcester's fly-half is primed to bring tears to those same eyes as London Irish visit Sixways for a cup duel.
Brown, who spent three years at Irish, played 15 minutes of their 2002 cup victory over Northampton at Twickenham. It was a day he will never forget but, for the 26-year-old, tomorrow's sixth-round tie is about Worcester's road to glory rather than a trip down memory lane.
"I wouldn't say that tomorrow is extra special," said Brown.
"We've got to take it as any other game. We've got to play Irish again in the new year so I'll be trying to treat it is another game.
"I was there for three years and I still have a lot of friends there but I've got a job to do and I'll be concentrating on that. The final, back in 2002, was a brilliant experience and to get on the field for 15 minutes was great because it meant I thought I deserved the medal.
"It became clear, though, that I had to move on to play more rugby and I owe a lot to Conor O'Shea and Gary Gold (London Irish's coaches).
"I had a year left on my contract when the Worcester move came about. They wanted to keep me but I wanted to play rugby. In the end they let me go to Worcester and I'm grateful for that because it's been a good move for me."
And the 'gamble' of moving down a division has paid off big time at Sixways. Brown is now regarded as the number one fly-half at a club he has taken to his heart.
"I feel very at home at Worcester," he said.
"My nan only lives down the road and I go back there every day for lunch!
"We were lucky enough, after last season's promotion, that the coaches Andy Keast and John Brain kept the nucleus of the squad together.
"It's becoming one of those clubs where we try and develop something rather than continually chop and change and I think that's important. We are a very close knit group at Worcester and that's nice to be part of."
Quite conceivably, though, Brown could have found himself fighting for his place as summer speculation linked Worcester with moves for Stephen Larkham and Matt Burke. Ultimately, the Solihull-born back was handed a new deal and he insisted he wasn't worried . . . much!
"It was nice to put pen to paper!" he said.
"When you have the likes of Stephen Larkham mentioned, you get a bit worried. However, I was in constant contact with John and Andy and they were willing to take me on. I always felt that I would stay even if Larkham arrived. I was ready to fight my corner!"
And Brown had an early season fight on his hands as supporters began to hit out at Worcester's slow start to their Premiership life which saw them lose their opening four games in the top flight.
"I think the whole team came in for some stick in the first few weeks," he said. "We won 26 out of 26 last season and then we began a new campaign and started losing. Maybe it was a shock to some supporters.
"Criticism is part and parcel of the game. You've just got to get on with it. You have to take criticism on board, certainly if it's coming from within the club, the players or the coaching staff.
"Outside of that, everybody's entitled to their opinion."
One opinion that Brown has had to listen to recently is the medical view. A bulging disk in his neck left him sidelined since October and, with Worcester racking up four wins since then, the frustration has mounted.
"It's been very frustrating because, before the wins, we'd gone through a bad patch at London Irish and then at home to Leicester," said Brown. "It's annoying when you can't do anything to help the team.
"Credit to the boys, they've turned it around. We all celebrated the Wasps win as one and I think that spoke volumes for the team spirit here at Worcester.
"It's not about the 15 or the 22, it's about the whole squad.
"It would be lovely now to win this cup for the supporters. We've already shown we can beat the best and the cup is a one-off so why not?"
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