People initially came on for serious rugby chat , and then it descended into a lot of fun . That ’ s what ’ s been really good actually , to have players on as they never know quite where it will go .
[ You announced the birth of your son on the pod …] Yes , of course , that wasn ’ t necessarily planned , but more well timed that it had just happened so it came up as something I ’ d been doing … Not many people have a podcast I guess , so it was certainly a bit unusual to announce it that way but it saved a lot of time making loads of phone calls !
What ' s your favourite thing about The Good , The Bad & The Rugby - and how will it translate to the live show ? The best thing about the pod and what we enjoy most is that we never know where it will go . The live shows are often the best ones , and that ’ s what we hope will translate into the tour – getting sneaky guests in and the unpredictability will be great . Of course , Hask ’ has been on his own stand-up tour so I ’ m expecting him to bring a lot to the table . Hopefully we ’ ll never do the same show twice !
Do you miss the rugby life or does the good , The Bad & The Rugby help fill that void ? It ' s an intense game and an intense way of life that you ’ ve suddenly left behind when it comes to retirement . The Good , The Bad & The Rugby definitely helps fill the gap that retiring from the game creates . Any professional rugby player will tell you the bit he misses most is the camaraderie more than actually playing , the locker room banter of being all in it together . With the podcast , as well as the banter between us three , we get the guests dropping in etc . We get older players from my time on the field , then Hask ’ brings in the younger guys , and we all have a chat and a catch up .
We always think that for the average punter , it ’ s like stumbling into the pub and sitting next to three guys who played together and they ’ re having a chat about the game . They get to listen to that conversation , but they also get those behind the scenes stories from our own experiences of playing . Alex ’ s brilliance as a broadcaster creates a great atmosphere – while he also , sort of , keeps us on track , as we ’ ve got such different views of the sport too ; Hask ’ with his very broken body , Alex with all his years as a presenter , and then my own experiences . Bringing that mix together is really nicely done .
Do your family and friends listen / watch - what do they make of it ? I get messages from people , when we ’ ve been talking about something – either they were part of the story , or they remembered it happening , or if we mention someone they get in touch . And that ’ s quite cool , that players – my former teammates – choose to listen in as well as fans of the game , so we know it ’ s appealing to a lot of people .
Rugby is one of those games though , you grow up together through the junior ranks , into the seniors at club and country level for all those years . Then you retire and that ’ s it , you ’ re apart from these people you ’ ve been with for a huge part of your life , even more so these days where people move from club to club , or between countries , more . Thankfully , when you do get back together , it ’ s like you ’ ve never left and you have those relationships for life .
We will talk about someone on the pod , and then I often drop them a message after as it reminds me we ’ ve not spoken in a while . It ’ s a walk down memory lane .
What are you most / least looking forward to about the tour ? Most : The road trips and journeys between venues , as I think we ’ ll get quite a bit of material from those conversations and what happened the night before . Least : Spending too much time with Hask ’…….
In all honesty , I think we ’ ll revert to type and it ’ ll be very much like normal touring life . Hask ’ is actually a really good person to travel with , he likes to find places for a coffee and places to see during the day , so I think we ’ ll be getting some nice locations to stop off at and visit on the way .
Away from The Good , The Bad & The Rugby , what keeps you busy ? I ’ ve got my little man and the girls , they definitely keep me busy . We also have the business behind the podcast , which is growing all the time . I do a lot of charity work as well , especially Cure Parkinson ’ s who I work with because of my dad . I still play the odd match for the charities . But as long as I can do all that and spend time with my kids , that ’ s what it ’ s all about .
You appeared on an all-men special edition of ITV ' s Loose Women . That show made a real impact , with the panel talking about men ' s mental health . How did you feel about that reaction and how important was the project for you ? It was great to be part of that show . Vernon Kay was hosting it and he approached me personally to be on , and we spoke about all sorts of things – our relationships , careers , and most importantly our mental health .
We didn ’ t expect there to be quite such a reaction to four guys just chatting about ‘ stuff ’, but if we helped one person realise they ’ re in a place where they needed help and they reached out because of us – then that ’ s our work done .
But mental health for everyone is so important , and it ’ s something we do touch on with the podcast – it ’ s our way of checking in with each other . While there are a lot of laughs and a lot of fun , it can get more serious at times . We ’ ve spoken about various issues in the game and in life in general , and we are proud to be able to do that alongside making people smile .
Who will be the most entertaining / shocking / revealing on the tour ? Probably James for all of those ! But let ’ s think strategically … I think ‘ shocking ’ will be Alex , in a more ‘ surprising ’ sense as we saw a different side to the smooth professional , groomed Alex when we went to Japan so we could get a repeat performance . ‘ Revealing ’ will be James , he ’ s always one for oversharing , and not always the things you want to hear either . And that leaves me for ‘ entertaining ’; that works .
The Good , The Bad and The Rugby Live will be on Sunday 1st May at Liverpool Empire . merseylife . com 17