WHAT’S THE funniest thing you’ve seen or heard on the pitch?
I just love hearing the forwards’ banter. Nothing goes my way, I play and keep quiet. Some of the boys have great chat at Suntory Sungoliath. Will Chambers gave Duane Vermeulen lip in a trial match just after he won the World Cup.
Do you have any phobias?
I’m scared of the dark and definitely scared of snakes, so they are something I stay well away from. Heights are also not my forte.
If your house was on fire, what one item would you save?
Probably just my phone. It has got everything on there, my cards and ID. That or my favourite book, the Bible, I’d run out with that.
Best book you’ve read?
I read this investment book by Dr Spencer Johnson called Who Moved My Cheese? It’s a short book about adapting to the times, it’s pretty good. You can take it into sports as well.
They use the analogy of rats getting cheese. Some people just want to stay with the same cheese because they are comfortable, whereas realising when the cheese is running out and finding new avenues and ways of doing things is always important. In rugby, you can have a game plan and a vision of how you want the game to go but it always changes. Being able to adapt on the run is something really important that you can take into life.
Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av Rugby World.
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Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av Rugby World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
"I stress-test my coaches' ideas but ultimately you have to let the bakers bake"
Northampton Saints' director of rugby explains how to be an effective coach
REMEMBER WHEN...WE HAD A HOTLINE ON RUGBY GOING PRO
RW readers could ring in to have their say on the amateur-pro debate
RUGBY RANT
Editor Joe Robinson on why rugby needs to take kit launches more seriously
WHAT IT'S LIKE TO...BE A SEVENS REFEREE SELECTOR
Irish official David Keane lifts the lid on his role behind the scenes
“You can still be fully professional and enjoy yourself"
The Wales great who also represented the Lions and Scarlets with distinction
CLEVEDON RFC
Giving grass-roots rugby the love that it deserves...
Downtime with... Jacob Umaga - "Best player in my family? I have to say Uncle Tana"
The Benetton fly-half on Italy, basketball and talented kinsmen
SHANE MCDONALD
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
100* Not Out
RW charts a century of Samoa's flagship national team, including its dramatic rebirth in the late 1980s
Chunk
More than a decade since his retirement, we caught up with Allan Jacobsen, the larger-than-life former Scotland prop