Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
A rugby player who became England's youngest captain at 22, leading the team to a World Cup final and two consecutive Grand Slams.
On the island
Eight records
I listen to this on the coach and and when we arrive at Twickenham or whichever game we play, I always listen to these songs, there's about three of them. People seem to think oh it must be heavy metal because I always have a walkman on, but it's not and I find them very calming before actually playing.
I remember it when I when I was at school. It was basically when I was first picked to play for Sedba, which for me was the highlight of of my life. And I remember listening to this'cause I thought it was quite a mature record at the time.
Steve Winwood and Will Jennings
I remember this at university when I when I first got there really, and when I started listening to a few of his albums and it was the when you I suppose you you compare Sedba to Durham, it was the freedom really that that I remember and actually having to uh make a choice whether I went to lectures or not.
the World Cup was such a a brilliant experience and for me even now whenever I hear it it uh still brings back amazing memories for me.
it reminds me of a of a period um after the the Scottish defeat in nineteen ninety in the Tour to Argentina when things were were hard in terms of results weren't coming. It's quite a sad song and it reminds me of that period really.
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
I remember this wa when I was at school. I just started playing for England's schools. And I absolutely loved this song, and I remember I had to rational myself to listen to it only once a day. But it was a great period of my life I'd actually got an England shirt.
I remember the actual video of it, which uh has got all sorts of uh mess ups in in sport, and it was just I had so much fun at university. It reminds me of um sort of summer days in in the bar at Durham.
What a Wonderful WorldFavourite
Bob Thiele and George David Weiss
I really got into listening to it when I actually made the decision to leave the army. And I was staying with a friend in Hereford at the time and I remember walking round and round this little walk when I realised that I was going to leave and it was quite sad. And also now whenever, you know, I sometimes think, oh, life's a bit hard, I listen to this, I think it's just a brilliant record.
In conversation
Presenter asks
1:42From the very beginning you were really, really competitive, naturally competitive, were you?
I think I was, yeah. I I remember um at cricket once I was given out, and obviously I didn't agree with it, and I stormed into what we had, a little pavilion, and threw my back down. Turned round to see my mother, who had come storming after me, and she gave me uh one of the hardest slaps I've ever had. But uh yeah, I I just I was when I was young, I just I couldn't stand losing.
Presenter asks
8:53How difficult did you imagine it was going to be, that journey from schoolboy rugby into international rugby?
I happened to play for England's schoolboys and and that was great, but I could never realistically see myself playing for England. ... during my year off, he got picked for England. And that's when I first thought, well, ... there must be a chance to bridge the chasm, but before then I could I could never see it.
Presenter asks
10:10Tell me what happened [with the army scholarship and Sandhurst].
Well, I think for me the rugby was was the dream, and I got picked, and I knew that uh in the September I'd have to go back to Sandhurst for a six month course. ... about a month before I was meant to go to Sandhurst I heard through my father, he said, Well, I think the rumour is that while you're at Sandhurst there they don't think you're going to be able to play representative rugby ... went down there and spoke to the man who was in charge and he said, well, We don't think, you know, you're going to have the time to play Representative Rugby while you're here ... And at the end of the day I wasn't willing to take the risk. I said, Well, thank you, but no, thank you. I want to carry on playing for England or try to. And I'll do something else rather than the army.
The keepsakes
The book
J. R. R. Tolkien
When I read it when I was young, or younger, I just thought it was brilliant. The little idea of this Bilbo Baggins wandering off on his adventures. I thought his adventures were brilliant. His treks around the place and through the forests and the spiders and golem in the caves. I just from then on whenever I went anywhere, I was at prep school or whatever, you know, I was just on an adventure as well. Used to walk to the classroom and I was on an adventure. It was brilliant. And I loved it.
The luxury
It's a tank basically with about a foot of water but saline solution. It's sound proof, obviously and there's no light. You get in there, you just float, and it is incredibly relaxing. Because after a while you just can't feel any part of your body. You just it's not like lying down or anything like that. And it would just give me a chance to think.
Presenter asks
14:07How did you approach it, knowing what you knew [about winning the confidence of the older players]?
And there's no way, obviously, as you say, with these big guys, I was going to go in, thump the table, and say, Right, I'm Captain, this is what you're going to do. ... because I think they would have just laughed at me. But I said, you know, this is what I honestly this is where I believe we can get to. They already had the attitude of mine to say, Yeah, we want to get there too
Presenter asks
14:42How hard was that to cope with [having the powers of a selector and dropping players]?
I think that's been the hardest bit, really. Although it it's nice to be able to have a say in the team, it's such a double edged sword when people are dropped. They're so upset, and quite rightly. And it's been very hard to to drop people who are your friends. ... And it puts me in a quite a difficult position because you're not just a player, but you're not management. You sort of float in the middle because they know you sit on selection. But it does leave you in that sort of limbo land where where players know it's you're slightly different and that's that's been very hard and it's it's in a way quite lonely.
Presenter asks
20:54How difficult has it been for you to cope with [personal criticism after the Scottish defeat]?
It is hard. I mean, you you make I think you make mistakes in in terms of the media things that you might do and then they say, Well, you know, he he's doing it for his own good or, you know, he's just arrogant and ... I find I'm I'm quite sensit I'm very sensitive to criticism in that sense. Um and it hurt a lot. And it was it was a very hard time for me'cause it it makes you think, you know, am I doing the right thing? Am I doing it for the right reasons? And have I have I got everything in in the right proportion?
“I have honestly never been as as nervous or frightened before a game in my life. For me that was just The most petrifying experience I've ever had on a rugby field.”
“I'm not a ranter and raver. I don't like to listen, as I said, to heavy metal. I don't like to to hit myself or bang my head against the wall. I just like to think about something and go out and play.”
“I think if I was in it for the money I would have taken a million pounds and gone to rugby league. I'm not in it for the money, as I said. I never have been. It's not what interests me.”