From accepting a rugby player's body image, to combining a teaching career with rugby, Lark Atkin-Davies' journey to international rugby has been a fascinating one. Growing up in a sport-loving cottage in the countryside, Red Roses and Bristol Bears hooker opens up on setbacks, commitment and her determination to become a professional player. In th…
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Making mistakes were part of growing up for Danny Care. The Harlequins scrum reflects on his lapses when establishing his rugby career and how they took away the thing he loved - playing for his country. Care also opens up about the importance of family, growing up in Yorkshire and playing football with Jamie Vardy. In this pod you will also hear f…
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Family is at the heart of everything Courtney Lawes believes in. The back row forward opens up about how his comments on social media on family life caused a reaction, and how he now reflects. Lawes also talks about race in rugby, different ethnicities playing the sport and being a dad. In this pod you will also hear from Courtney's wife Jessica La…
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Despite playing consistently for England since his debut, full back Freddie Steward still has his doubts. The Leicester Tigers back opens up on some of the mental hurdles he has overcome, explains the reasons why he quit some social media and what importance of family means to him. In this pod you will also hear from Freddie's mum, dad and brother,…
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Despite being an upbeat, bubbly and sociable person, Detysha Harper's life has not always been easy. The Loughborough Lightning prop talks about her upbringing in Salford, how rugby saved her, her experience being mixed race in the sport and her last minute call-up for New Zealand 2022. In this pod you will also hear from her older brother Eze, as …
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As self-confessed introvert, Tatyana Heard is comfortable in her own company. The Gloucester-Hartpury centre talks about her journey back to international rugby after injuries, her job working for Asda during the COVID-19 pandemic, being proud of her roots in Yorkshire and her new found joy of reading in her own company. In this pod you will also h…
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As England's most capped ever player, Sarah Hunter has had her fair share of highs and lows. The Red Roses' captain reflects on some of her most painful moments on the pitch including losing major finals, and why the hurt of her team mates from those moments is something she has to live with every day. From starting out playing rugby league, to mak…
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As one of the most talked about players of his generation, there are many facets to Manu Tuilagi’s life and career. However the Samoan-born centre has rarely told his story about some of the biggest moments. On this pod, Manu talks candidly about his arrest on a night out in Leicester, to thinking about retiring from the game when his injury proble…
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Maro Itoje is more than just a rugby player. From discussing racism within modern society, how black history is viewed in the western world and his connection to Africa and African art, the England lock talks candidly about a number of wide ranging topics in this podcast. Although a native of north London, Itoje opens up on his connection to Nigeri…
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Being diagnosed with diabetes and developing an obsessive personality are two of the barriers that Henry Slade has overcome to play rugby for England. The Exeter Chiefs centre talks in depth about his diagnosis with diabetes and how it affects his life as a player and a person, as well as the steps he took to overcome his small daily obsessions tha…
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Family and friendship are something incredibly important to Kevin Sinfield. Following the diagnosis of motor neurone disease in his friend and former Leeds Rhinos colleague Rob Burrow, Sinfield opens up on the effect that has had on him as a person, why he decided to run marathons to raise money and how the illness has changed his outlook on life. …
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Rugby was a passion as well as a coping tool for Billy Vunipola. The Saracens number 8 reveals what it was like growing up in Tonga before moving to Wales, opening up about the culture differences between the two and how he used rugby as a buffer to communicate in a country different to his native tongue. The backrower dives into his on-off profess…
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Owen Farrell and his dad Andy have a unique relationship. The Saracens back reveals what it was like growing watching him in an all-conquering Wigan Warriors team, to being coached by him and England and now facing him as opposition with his position as head coach of Ireland. Owen opens up about what it was like moving from Wigan to London when his…
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Being gay is not something that defines Hannah Botterman, she just want to be Hannah Botterman. The Red Roses and Saracens prop opens about about her relationship to club and international team mate Holly Aitchison, her unusual route to Test rugby via eating pasties while working as a painter and decorator and her family relationships. She also dis…
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Family and close bonds mean everything to Marcus Smith. The England and Harlequins fly half opens up about his upbringing and childhood growing up in the Philippines and Singapore, the pride he takes in being half Filipino and how his parents have influenced in to become who he is today. Smith also discusses how his rejection for trials at Tottenha…
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Having come back from two career-threatening injuries, Rosie Galligan knows more than most about the long road back. The Harlequins and Red Roses second row talks about her hospitalisation with meningitis that required her to be quarantined and how a delay could have threatened the use of her legs, as well as the time she shattered her ankle and ha…
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Growing up in south London, Sadia Kabeya did not come from a rugby background. The Red Roses and Loughborough Lightning flanker opens up about some of the challenges she has faced in her early career including growing up around gang culture, the lack of diversity she found as she progressed to higher levels and how the Black Lives Matter movement a…
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The balance between marketing yourself and abuse on social media is not a choice that Jess Breach wants to make. The Red Roses winger opens up on the difficulties of social media and the changes she wants to see, as well as the negative effect it had on her questioning her own body image. Breach also talks about her close friendship with England fl…
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From working in a glass factory to World Rugby coach of the year, Simon Middleton has an interesting story to tell. The Red Roses head coach opens up about life growing up in Yorkshire, his late arrival into professional rugby league and some of the times in his life that have been most challenging, from dealing with the death of his father to bein…
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Best friend. Head coach. Husband. Red Roses lock Abbie Ward and Bristol Bears Women head coach Dave Ward have an unique sporting and personal relationship, having to combine their marriage with a working life at the Allianz Premier 15s side. On this England Rugby Podcast: O2 Inside Line, Abbie also talks about the difficult discussion she had with …
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As a former England men's international, Louis Deacon never envisaged himself getting involved in the women's game until he got offered the opportunity to become Red Roses' forwards coach in 2021. The ex-Leicester second row opens up on the differences between the men's and women's game, the dark times he faced while dealing with injuries as a play…
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Making the choice to balance a life in professional sport and becoming a parent is different for men and women, but one Marlie Packer wanted to embrace. The Red Roses flanker opens up on England Rugby Podcast: O2 Inside Line about how her perception on life has changed since becoming a mum, learning from her mistakes following her drink driving cha…
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Growing up in south east London, where opportunity was seldom and crime was rife, early life for Shaunagh Brown was difficult. From knowing people that either died or went to prison, hear how she helped channel a different energy into sport, her varied career, coming to accept herself as a rugby role model as well as wanting to improve diversity in…
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Any time representing your country is special, but for Mark Atkinson coming on at Twickenham at the age of 31 felt even more memorable. The Gloucester centre goes in-depth about his change in mindset when playing semi-professional rugby and considering taking a stewarding job at the 2012 Olympics, to focusing on being professional and then represen…
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Raffi Quirke doesn't want rugby to define him as a person. The Sale Sharks scrum half opens up about his passions and interests outside of the game including his love of cooking which inspired his Instagram account Pitch to Plate, and why buying a pair of clippers not only allows him to cut the hair of team mates but bond with them off the field. Q…
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