Thursday 11 June 2015 09:48, UK
The Asset, the Aussie-Geordie, the bad-boy of darts - Paul Nicholson has had a fair few names during his time on the oche...
But the 2010 Players Championship winner has been out of the limelight for some time now. Following a loss to Benito van de Pas in the first round of the 2015 World Championship the 36-year-old from Newcastle exited the stage and left his darts behind him; a sign to many that he was walking away from the game.
It’s taken changes behind the scenes and an overhaul of his bad-boy reputation to bring the enigmatic thrower, famous for wearing sunglasses during his stage entrance, to get another chance in front of the Sky Sports cameras when he returns to play for Australia in the World Cup of Darts.
We spoke to Nicholson ahead of his fifth appearance wearing the green and gold...
So Paul, you're accent is definitely more Geordie Shore than Gold Coast, tell us your background and how you came to represent Australia?
PAUL: I lived in Australia for a few years and got my permanent residency there, but what a lot of people don’t know is that I’ve got Australian family who are based in Perth.
When I first came back from Australia to compete in the World Championship I felt like it was my duty to give the country the respect it deserved because it was them who gave me the opportunity to qualify for the World Championships. After that I said I would never represent another country but Australia and I’ve done that with pride ever since.
You get to play alongside Simon Whitlock at the World Cup of Darts - we'd love to grow a beard like his - do you and The Wizard have a good partnership?
PAUL: Simon and I have been a team since the very first one. We’ve got such a fantastic chemistry that when this tournament comes around it’s got a little bit of extra spice to it because you get to play with somebody that you really trust.
[The World Cup of Darts] is for a different cause, it’s not really for yourself, it’s for your nation and your partner. It just has that little bit of extra spice to it and I’ve been looking forward to it for months.
We haven't seen you on Sky Sports Darts since Ally Pally, what's your form like at the moment?
PAUL: My form is pretty non-existent. I decided a few weeks ago on the tour that I was going to take a few weeks off because things had not been going my way and the pressure of the tour was such that I thought I needed a little bit of a break.
I removed myself from the pressures for a couple of weeks just so that I could go into this World Cup with a fresh head and fresh mind-set. We’ll find out what it’s like come tomorrow and the weekend because I’m hoping that having a fresh head for me will be a little bit of an advantage because some of the other guys will be a little more tired.
Back in 2012 when Australia lost to England in that famous sudden death final you vowed you would win the title one day, will that be in 2015?
PAUL: A lot of people are talking about Holland, they’re talking about England and Scotland but nobody is really talking about Australia. We’re sort of the fans' second favourites. There are a lot of people that would like to see us win it, whether it’s this year…
Mine and Simon’s attitude is that our form has probably been at its worse in our World Cup careers but we could probably go under the radar a bit and if we could manage to make it to the Sunday – well then anything is possible.
That 2012 final was incredible with you, Simon, Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis all missing doubles that could have won the title, what memories do you have of the match?
PAUL: Two real feelings come back when I think about it and one was ‘I can’t believe how much pressure I’m feeling now on that final double’ – I’ve never, ever felt anything like that feeling in my life and I’ve been in some pressure-filled situations.
At the time I felt like we’d done so much hard work and it had gone great because we've put ourselves in this position, but when I look back at it now it’s a case of I’m glad it happened because it made be a better person and it made me realise how hard it is to win these things. When I win things in the future I’ll definitely value it more.
You had a run-in with Phil Taylor when you beat him back in 2011, The Power even labelled you as 'silly'. It's also an Ashes year; can we expect sparks to fly if England and Australia meet again?
PAUL: The last two years England have beaten us and then there was obviously the World Cup final from a couple of years ago – that was probably one the most edgy darting situations in living memory for the fans and pundits to watch. It was just incredible.
Last year was a little less controversial and a little less pressure filled but I get the feeling this year if we meet later at the later stages I don’t think they’ll be any love lost because generally behind the scenes – what people don’t see - is that we don’t talk to each other, we just give each other the evils across the room. We’ll stand up to each other and say well done but we really want to beat each other up.
So are we going to see any of your famous showmanship on the stage in Frankfurt this year?
PAUL: I’ve made a lot of changes recently. I’ve looked at myself and some of things I’ve done wrong and looked at the things I’ve done right and what I’m trying to do at the moment with my career is figure out who am I going forward and what’s going to make me the best darts player I can possibly be. I’ve got a new coach, I’ve got a new psychologist so in order for me to continue to be a darts player – and a very good one at that – I have to leave no stone unturned and at the moment I’m going through that process.
As to how I’m going to be on stage this week? You’ll just have to wait and see because some days I don’t even know what I’m going to do until I get on that stage.
And finally, will the sunglasses be making another appearance?
PAUL: I think you’ll have to wait and find out. Last year I was instructed that I shouldn’t wear them anymore but you’ve never know, they might have to make an appearance for a World Cup because World Cups are special.
