A community club which is run not for profit, just to “keep the lights on”, needs great f—ing people. They are not all my mates. I do not get on with all of them. I absolutely avoid some of them at the bar and I know that there are some who would avoid me, but that was no different to the England team I played in. I didn’t get on with everyone and some people didn’t like me! But, at this level, there is just so much shared respect for what everyone does at the club. We could be better, but we are amateurs.
We get 50 at training now. I’m not saying that the documentary has been the panacea. It might only have been responsible for recruiting four or five players, but that is four or five more than we had before and we need every single one of them, as many as we can get.
I hope I pass, but I have just completed my Level Three coaching badges. I do not necessarily want to be a professional coach but I am interested in what is going on in rugby. I speak to Bill Sweeney, the RFU chief executive, often, and there is a lot I both agree and disagree with him on. We have pleasant discussions but I am aggressive on a few things. I am no RFU mouthpiece but Sweeney supported this documentary and was interviewed at a time when he was under pressure for his job. I respect him for that; as I do Sir Clive Woodward, my old coach, who also gave up his time.
I love my sport. Rugby won’t leave me, can’t leave me; it is in me. Whether it’s coaching Maidenhead in December on a five-game losing streak, as long as there are lads who want to finish the session slightly better than when they started, I could not give a fig about what level it is. I have found myself down at Maidenhead, where the boys and girls want to get better. And I love it.
The five-part series “The Heart of the Game” is available on the England Rugby YouTube channel.