There will come a time in the not-so-distant future where I'll have to hang the boots up but right now I have no plans to stop because I love this sport. I'll hope to play with with two of my sons, my middle boy Campbell will be 17 in September, so can then play men's rugby alongside my eldest Bailey and me.
One of my career highlights was playing at the Commonwealth Games. In 2014 I was at London Scottish where Simon Amor used to coach before he went over to the England Sevens programme. Mike Friday was director of rugby at the time and told me at training Simon was going to get in contact with me.
The phone call came which meant I was going to have a crack at going to the Commonwealth Games. It was 10-12 weeks of slog to try and get ready but thankfully I made it and represented England which was an incredible experience, going on to win the plate competition. After that I went out to South Africa to play in a World Series tournament in Port Elizabeth which was good fun as well. I'm a huge advocate for sevens, I played until two years ago for Samurai who are now known as Shogun. Younger players want to play as much as they can, so sevens is great because it's fast, good for your skills and is fun.
Watching it at the Olympics this year was awesome, it was a bit of a shame how New Zealand performed finishing fifth which isn't where they wanted to be. GB didn't make it which is a shame but France were ridiculous, Antoine Dupont was next level and for him to switch in and out of XVs and 7s has been pretty freakish.
I got into the sport through my dad as he used to play at our local club Marist in Nelson, New Zealand.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Edwards gives Gatland a little to think about
A TERRIFIC effort from Ospreys should have seen victory and it was rough justice that high-flying Cardiff escaped with an undeserved draw.
Cowan-Dickie: I'm back and buzzing
LUKE Cowan-Dickie's journey back to the pinnacle of rugby is nothing short of extraordinary.
Clow keeps Rams in touch at the top
RAMS inward approach is paying dividends with the club involved in another title race thanks in part to free scoring flyer Zachary Clow.
Powell powers over to take Quins home
PLAYMAKER Kayleigh Powell powered past four defenders to score the eighth Harlequins try and narrowly edge out a spirited Trailfinders side to secure a late comeback win in a 15-try derby thriller.
Hathaway can follow Zam Skivington
GEORGE Skivington has backed Josh Hathaway to continue to go from strength to strength as the young winger attempts to follow in the slipstream of Louis Rees-Zammit and be a big hit for club and country.
Hybrid Hash will tie Borthwick in knots
THE description 'Hybrid Central Contracts' does not inspire confidence. Hybrid usually means a bit of this, and a bit of that — and 'Hybrid Hash' would be a more apt term for the RFU contracts given to 17 England players just before the autumn series slump.
Quins leave it late to power past Falcons
MARCUS Smith showed his class on Friday night, being an imperious creator and finisher as Harlequins romped to an emphatic five-try victory on Tyneside.
We need to see a complete shake-up
A NEW year and change is on the way across many aspects of the game, not least with the possibility of an SGM creating a complete change at the RFU.
Cool McBryde steals it for RGC
BILLY McBryde held his nerve to land a last kick of the match conversion to snatch a stunning 4139 win for RGC over leaders Ebbw Vale at Parc Eirias.
Century of highs for La Rochelle
AN IMPRESSIVE milestone at Stade Marcel Deflandre was reached last night, where La Rochelle hosted their 100th sell-out match in a row – either side of the period of pandemic restrictions – a run stretching back to January 2, 2016.