IT'S good to be back writing my online column because it's going to be a big 15 months for me.

I was absolutely delighted to find out I was having a testimonial year organised for me to mark my 10th year at the club so I'm going to be keeping really busy.

A group of people approached me about the prospect a few months back - one of my sponsors, Jason Walker, and some supporters - and it's great that they're going to help me celebrate my time here.

We're running it with some charities, having a bit of fun, and putting some events on.

The first one's on July 28, which is a golf day at Mere and hopefully we'll get a load of the Sale boys in, some cricketers and some lads from rugby league and have a good day.

The last thing that's already down is July 11, we're going to try and have an old boys game at Heywood Road, a Steve Hanley XV against a Sale Legends XV and hopefully we'll have the likes of Jim Mallinder, Fran Cotton, Steve Diamond, Dave Baldwin, Jason Robinson playing. It's going to be a big family fun day and we'll have a barbecue and plenty of other events going on.

I feel honoured to be recognised like this because it's been a really good time.

I enjoy it at Sale and at the end of my career, I'll have some great memories to look back on.

There's too many to recount but there are still a few that particularly stand out.

The 2002 Parker Pen Cup final is probably the main one.

Nobody gave us a chance when we were getting beaten by Pontypridd but we turned that round and won.

It was the first silverware we'd won as a team and as a club, so it was special.

I'll always remember that weekend because we had the gala dinner the next night and it was basically a two-day celebration and it got a little bit messy by the end!

I'm still really good friends with the lads I played with in that team and I'm still in touch with most of them.

Another one that some people might find a little bit strange is the Twickenham final against Newcastle in the Powergen Cup - even though we did lose!

Losing itself was horrendous but the whole build-up to it was brilliant. We lost in the last few minutes but that was a memory I'll have forever because playing at Twickenham for your club is different to playing there for your country.

Obviously you love playing for your country, so that one cap I won against Wales sticks out as well. But you spend all your time with your club teammates and you build a strong bond so it's great to share those moments with them.

Winning the Premiership final at Twickenham was obviously another great achievement for the club but, on a personal level, it was slightly bittersweet.

I played a part in the season itself so I did contribute to the win but to be injured on the day was a real blow. It didn't stop me enjoying the celebrations though.

This season has also been a bit of a disappointment.

I injured my back against Bayonne and it was clear back then that it was going to keep me out for a while.

I've had a couple of operations to fix it but it's a long road back and I definitely won't be ready before the end of the season.

But I've still got a year left on my contract here and I'm determined to be back in a Sale shirt next season.

By then I'll have a point to prove.