This time, Brown's trip ends in smiles

MIKE Brown’s 21st pre-season came with an added sense of déjà vu as he relived his worst nightmare on a Leicester trip to Portugal.

- ADAM HATHAWAY

Michael Cheika’s squad had a week at Browns Sports Resort in Vilamoura, which was used by England, and saw the end of the full-back’s international days. Brown’s last visit to the complex was back in 2018, ahead of that year’s autumn internationals, when Eddie Jones terminated his Test playing days.

Brown was never picked for England again but, at the age of 39, he is still intent on proving he is nowhere near his sellby date even if his return to the Algarve did bring him out in a cold sweat.

And with the hard-hitting Cheika arriving in the summer, after Dan McKellar’s shock departure, the former England star reckons a change is as good as a rest as he gears up for another season.

“The last time I had been to that sports resort in Vilamoura was with Eddie,” said Brown, speaking at an event to mark the renewal of Gallagher’s Premiership Rugby title partnership. “And that was when I got dropped by him. Turning up there was a bit ‘not again’. Part of the problem is it’s still exactly the same – it was a bit like PTSD for me and Ben Youngs, more so for me because the last time I had been there was not a great memory.