James Haskell will always remember the event when he first encountered Liam Williams on a rugby area.
The self-styled bomb defuser had made it into the skilled ranks after rising at Waunarlwydd. A scaffolder used to working at heights of as much as 300ft at Port Talbot Steelworks, he had earned every thing he had achieved in rugby. He was diamond-hard, with zero airs and graces, the best way he’s now.
And even after profitable caps for Wales, he took time to rein in a number of the, er, extra vigorous facets of his recreation.
Let 77-cap England worldwide Haskell take up the story. “I keep in mind the primary time I performed in opposition to Liam Williams, I tackled him, he bought up, trod on my hand and kneed me within the head. I used to be like: ‘What the hell?’
“I mentioned to him afterwards: ‘What the hell are you doing?’ He mentioned: ‘Sorry, I used to be taking part in in league three not that way back. I forgot the place I used to be.’
“I advised him it was nice.
“I bought on properly with him on the Lions tour of 2017. We had some good nights out collectively.”
It’s an odd one with Haskell.
Many have preconceptions about him earlier than attending to know him. He’s chatting with us to advertise the massively profitable The Good, The Unhealthy and The Rugby podcast, which he and fellow England worldwide Mike Tindall are taking over tour, with dates at St David’s Corridor in Cardiff on Might 4 and Swansea Area on Might 15.
He’s open and generally seems to function and not using a filter, however he’s affable with it and says he bought on properly with all of the Welsh boys on the Lion tour 5 years in the past, name-checking Jonathan Davies, Taulupe Faletau, Dan Biggar, Williams and Justin Tipuric, amongst others.
“All of them have been improbable,” he mentioned.
“Folks had blended concepts what I’d be like, however once I got here again from the tour a great deal of followers mentioned to me: ‘I used to assume you have been a dick, however I’ve heard from the lads you have been boy.’
“Welsh followers are good to me, English followers are good to me.
“So the boys have to be going about reporting good issues!
“I really like all of them: Toby Faletau, Justin Tipuric’s top-of-the-line rugby gamers I’ve ever seen — his ability.
“I made mates for all times on that tour.”
Tipuric made a specific impression by way of his high quality.
“He’s an unimaginable participant,” mentioned Haskell.
“Sam Warburton’s sensible, however I believe Justin Tipuric would have began in any [other] worldwide aspect: the skill-set, his workrate. The one factor that ever bought levelled in opposition to him was physicality, by way of his dimension. However the entire level of a again row is that you simply create steadiness. He tackles like anyone’s enterprise, however in the event you’re involved about that you could ram one other huge unit subsequent to him.
“He’s the one back-row participant I’ve ever met who has his personal transfer, specifically the chip excessive. I keep in mind doing a lineout and the coach mentioned: ‘Proper, Justin, you’re out right here, you get the ball.’ He ran, chipped it excessive after which somebody ran round and bought it.
“I used to be, like: ‘My flip to have a go at that.’
“I used to be advised: ‘No, no, no. You don’t have that transfer.’
“So he was superb.”
Had issues turned out in another way Haskell may have performed for Wales.
He qualifies by means of a Welsh connection on his mom’s aspect, having revealed up to now “we have been type of all from Cross Palms and Higher Tumble”.
It reached a degree the place he explored a hyperlink with the Welsh Exiles similtaneously he performed for England U18s.
How shut was he to throwing his lot in with Wales? “I used to be very shut,” he mentioned. “Everybody who found that claims: ‘Nicely, you wouldn’t have gotten within the Welsh group, anyway.’ I all the time giggle and inform them they’re most likely proper. In addition they say if I’d gone for it I might have received some extra Grand Slams, they usually’re proper about that as properly.
“I did all of the Welsh Exiles stuff on the similar as I used to be doing England U18s.
“It was bizarre and what I believe individuals, followers, generally discover exhausting to know is that I didn’t play rugby for my nation as a result of I had an unimaginable ardour for my nation and I’m a die-hard nationalist. I did what I did to be one of the best at what I may do. If taking part in for Uruguay was one of the best I may obtain, I might have carried out that. That’s my mindset. Folks discuss passions and rivalries, however I by no means hated anybody. I by no means needed to win over anybody greater than something. I simply needed to play one of the best I may play and, in the end, for my group to carry out and for me to get pleasure from doing it.”
He selected England, although.
“I went to highschool in England, I’m fairly white middle-class. You’ll be able to’t disguise my accent. It was a whole lot of travelling to get to Wales. It simply got here right down to it and I believed: ‘I’m going to have a go together with England.’
“From then on, when Wasps began taking discover of me and stuff, it made extra sense for me to be with England. With the Welsh group I used to be taking part in for being a growth aspect, the England group was barely extra forward at the moment. That’s what it got here right down to, in any other case I don’t know what I may have carried out.
“I may have tried to play for Wales 100%. I’ve a whole lot of mates within the Welsh group, I really like Wales. I really like the Principality Stadium, the Millennium Stadium because it was then.
“It was nearer than you’ll have thought.”
He nearly pitched up in Welsh regional rugby, too. “I nearly signed for the Ospreys,” he mentioned. “ I went down, sat down, talked to everybody. Once more, I used to be fairly eager on that, to play with Alun Wyn Jones, who I performed in opposition to in age-grade stuff, along with his performances within the Wales squad, his dedication.
“They’d Sean Holley on the time. The entire Ospreys aspect was mainly the Wales aspect. I believed it may very well be a good suggestion to return down there and actually be taught my craft. Sure, there’d be a whole lot of animosity, an English worldwide taking part in within the league there, however, in the end, France appeared like a greater choice for me. With all due respect to Swansea, it was contact and go, however Paris is a pleasant place to stay.”
So Haskell left for Stade Francais.
He tells an amusing story about bills throughout his teenage years: “Clearly it’s a bit tongue in cheek, however with England, the RFU are very officious, telling you what you must do and you must fill in kinds.’
“I might declare the bills again (from the RFU), although my dad and mom have been driving me and that will hold me in pizza cash or no matter.
“After I went with Wales a bloke used to tug out a bit of briefcase full of money and a calculator and also you’d simply go up and he’d say: ‘The place’ve you come from?’
“You have been, like: ‘Eh, London.’
“And he’d be like: “What?’
“You’d say: ‘London.’
“He’d get his calculator out and say: ‘Proper, that’s 300 quid, we’ll offer you 300 quid in money.’
“He did elevate an eyebrow once I mentioned I’d come from Serbia.
“He mentioned: ‘How have you ever…’
“I mentioned: ‘Household vacation, I’ve come all the best way. That’s 5 grand, please.’
“I used to be joking, however it was simply good you bought it in money. My dad was all the time making an attempt to inform ’em I used to be coming manner additional than I used to be.”
Haskell has watched Alun Wyn Jones being named within the Wales group this week for his first recreation again after nearly 5 months out with harm. There have been recommendations that sentiment may have influenced the decision as he prepares to turn into the primary man to finish 150 caps. However final summer season he skippered the Lions and it’s exhausting to consider selecting him may weaken a group, properly although Will Rowlands has been taking part in.
Haskell mentioned: I keep in mind taking part in within the Grand Slam recreation in opposition to Wales in 2013 which we misplaced.
“That p***es me off as a result of England coach Stuart Lancaster introduced me on with 5 minutes to go to win my fiftieth cap. That’s not how I needed to do it. I by no means bought to steer my nation out on a [milestone] cap. It’s nonetheless, like, ‘f**okay’s sake, why did you {do it]? Once you’re getting pumped 30-something, why would you deliver me on? What am I going to do?’
“So I by no means bought to steer my nation out, which is a remorse of mine.”
(Picture: Tim Merry)
On Jones he mentioned: “Will Rowlands is a participant I performed with at Wasps. It’s by no means good to not get a chance.
“In sport you hardly ever do issues since you must or ought to do or no matter.
“However while you get to a stage like that — 150 caps — I’m a romantic and I’d all the time let him have that chance to do it at residence, since you simply by no means know when it’s going to be the final.
“Didn’t Johnny Wilkinson end in his late 90s by way of caps, not ever attending to 100?
“You simply need to give that man a chance.
“And it’s in opposition to Italy. No disrespect to them, however I simply assume it’s the right time, the right alternative.
“If I used to be coach, I might have carried out it a hundred percent. I might have mentioned to Will: ‘You’re going to get on, however you perceive it is a once-in-a-lifetime factor.”
Pivac clearly desires to see Jones again on the sphere, anyway, and the chance is Rowlands will function within the second half. That mentioned, there’s most likely a human factor to the decision and in spite of everything Jones has carried out for Wales it appears exhausting to rail in opposition to it.
Which is Haskell’s level.
He’s been impressed by Wayne Pivac. “I like him,” he mentioned. “I didn’t know loads about him till I interviewed him for our The Good, The Unhealthy and The Rugby podcast. Each me and Mike Tindall mentioned afterwards: ‘Wow, we need to play for that man.’ I didn’t know what to anticipate. I’d not seen interviews with him. I didn’t know what he was going to be like. I questioned whether or not I used to be going to love him.
“However we got here off that interview and I believed he was an excellent man.”
Possibly it’s the Cross Palms and Higher Tumble connection.
However the man doesn’t dislike Wales.
James Haskell and Mike Tindall hit the street with the debut tour for his or her hit podcast The Good, The Unhealthy and The Rugby: St David’s Corridor, Cardiff, on Wednesday, Might 4; Swansea Area, Swansea on Sunday, Might 15.
Tickets are on sale NOW from www.cuffeandtaylor.com
