Q: How do you stay fit and healthy?
A: As a professional rugby player I take my health and fitness very seriously and believe that everyone should be as active as possible.  We are very fortunate at London Wasps because there is a huge emphasis placed on both our physical and mental health.  Our Fitness & Conditioning Team work very hard to provide each player with a programme that enables us to be at peak condition on the important areas of speed, strength, stamina, agility, balance and coordination; while our Medical Team are excellent in both injury prevention and rehabilitation.

Q: As a young player, what should you concentrate on most tackling or passing?
A: All young players should concentrate on developing all the core rugby skills and their understanding of the game.  As a flanker, I have to concentrate on both my ability to defend and win back possession while ensuring that I can be influential in attack.  Attacking and defending require a great deal of concentration on getting the basics right and I put a tremendous amount of emphasis on ensuring that I work very hard on my basic core skills under pressure.

Q: Which position is the most important on the field?
A: Every position is important both during the set piece (scrum, lineout and restart) and after the set piece.  As a young player I was encouraged to play and get experience in every position before eventually settling in to the flanker role.  I think this allowed me to gain a wider perspective of what my team mates experience during the game, especially as after three or phases we are encouraged to play ‘heads up rugby’ and ‘no numbers rugby’; this means we are encouraged to be able to identify space and attacking opportunities and be comfortable either in the ball carrying or support player role.

Q: Who is the best player you have ever played with or against?
A: I am very fortunate at London Wasps because I have played with many international players that have gained international reputations based on their professionalism and ability to perform under pressure.  I have played with seven members of the 2003 World Cup Winning England Squad (Lawrence Dallaglio, Josh Lewsey, Matt Dawson, Phil Vickery, Simon Shaw, Joe Worsley and Stuart Abbott) and would name my team mate Joe Worsley as the team mate I most admire because of his warrior spirit and tremendous appetite for work, both in training and playing.

Q: If you could play any other positions, what would it be?
A: My team mates would say centre as I very often appear in the midfield during attacks because I try to provide a link between our forwards and backs. 

Q: How do prepare for a big game?
A: I try to remain calm and focused because I do not want to waste any of my energy levels before the game by getting over-excited.  I have always been a firm believer that our preparations allow us to compete, therefore most of what I need to do before a Sunday 3pm kick off is done during the previous week.  I try to get a good night’s sleep as rest and relaxation are very important, then I ensure that I eat and drink appropriately to give my body the correct fuel and hydration to enable me to be at my best for the 80 minutes.  The drive to the stadium (home or away) allows me to mentally prepare for the game and then when I arrive for the game I remain calm and focused during the pre-match before building myself up for the physical battle that will occur during the game.

Q:  What is your greatest rugby achievement?
A: Rugby has been very king to me and I consider that every time I pull on the black shirt of London Wasps to be a huge achievement and an honour; especially when I think of the players that have worn the No. 7 shirt before me.  I have represented England at Under 19s, Under 21s, Sevens and was recently part of the full England Squad before injuring my knee.

Q: If you hadn’t become a professional rugby player. What would you have been?
A: I have always enjoyed being active, fit and healthy and would probably have liked to have trained as a PE Teacher.  I was very fortunate to have some very influential school teachers and I would like to think that I could have educated, motivated and inspired several pupils in the way that I received tremendous support during my time at school.

Q: What is your greatest achievement?
A:  I was very honoured to captain England Under 21s and would say that is a career highlight, plus I have played in some outstanding locations with the England 7s Squad.

Q: What are your unfulfilled ambitions?
A:  I have been unfortunate with injuries during my professional career and feel it has denied me the opportunity to stake my claim for the London Wasps 7 shirt on a regular basis.  Once I am playing regularly, fit and injury free, I think that I will be able to become a better player and help London Wasps to achieve our ambitions of winning the Heineken Cup and Guinness Premiership.  Having played for England at 19s, 21s & Sevens I would love to be able to represent my country; especially as we are about to enter a new area under Brian Ashton.  But I know that it is a regular starting place at London Wasps that will give me the opportunity to show Ian McGeechan and Shaun Edwards what I can do week-in-week-out and hopefully I will get the opportunity to play for England on the back of playing well for my club on a regular basis – and stay injury-free.

Q: You’ve been at London Wasps for four years now. How do you rate the current squad?
A: London Wasps are a fantastic club with a great reputation for developing young English-qualified players.  Our current squad is the biggest in the club’s history and we have genuine ambitions to compete and win every competition we enter.  I was very lucky to join an excellent Academy System and was mentored by Paul Volley and Joe Worsley who both encouraged me the Wasps Way.  The squad has a fantastic balance with a competitive edge that means we train and play to win.  We have recruited well, with players such as Phil Vickery, Dave Walder and Simon Amor joining us because they want to win trophies and be part of a club that wants to improve them as players.  We also have some very talented young players such as my good friend James Haskell and our two starlets Dominic Waldouck and Danny Cipriani coming through our Academy system and pressing the established players such as Lawrence Dallaglio, Fraser Waters and Alex King for places in the starting team.
I would also say that London Wasps is not just about the 45 professional players.  We have outstanding coaches and a Medical Team that give us every opportunity to prevent and rehabilitate injuries.  The club has real family feel and we are superbly supported by our Off-the-Field Commercial Team and of course our supporters, both at Adams Park, High Wycombe and when we play away from home.

Q: What do you like the most about being a rugby player? And what do you dislike?
A: I enjoy being able to do what I love doing as a career.  I am very fortunate to be able to do professionally what people do for fun every week.  Rugby has enabled me to meet and make many, many new friends while pitting myself both physically and mentally against opposition players that have the same desire and ambition to win as me.  I love being able to train and play in a team environment where players from different countries and social backgrounds are able to work, as one, towards a common aim and ambition.  Through training and playing I know that I am being as active as possible and keeping myself fit and healthy. 
The only dislike I have is being injured because I am put in a position where I am not able to play the sport I love.  Injuries are an inevitable consequence of playing a high-tempo collision sport, which is why it is so important to prepare properly and perform the core skills effectively and safely.