WORLD CLASS
Written off as a cocky loudmouth, James Haskell travelled the globe to revitalise his career and succeeded
OFFICIALLY, it is only 279 miles from London Heathrow to Dublin Airport. But not in the case of James Haskell, whose zig-zagging route, east and south and back, takes him there via three continents. The odyssey of his career – taking in spells in France, Japan and New Zealand – is typically Haskell: maverick.
He talks like Usain Bolt, the words flying out of his mouth so fast you imagine he would be more at home in the cockpit of a Formula 1 car.
He is dating television star Chloe Madeley, daughter of Richard and Judy, watched the darts at Ally Pally with Prince Harry and, according even to his admiring Wasps coach, Dai Young, is a bit ‘red-carpety’. The high life and high jinks are part of what make the restless Haskell the rugby player and man he is.
‘Totally bonkers but I really like him,’ was the verdict of one close observer.
In Dublin today the bearded hulk will win his 56th cap in what is a pivotal Six Nations clash. Aged 29, the flanker is now captain of Wasps and in the form of his life, rounded and, of course, well-travelled.
Haskell first joined Wasps in 2002, playing eight seasons for the club and winning his first England cap five years later. But in 2009, passport in his hand and wanderlust in his heart, he moved to Stade Francais.
He spent two seasons in the French capital, earning the nickname ‘Always More’ for wanting to do extra training. Off the pitch life meant a steady supply of baguettes and espressos.
Then came the 2011 World Cup — one England would rather forget. Haskell made a couple of controversial contributions to the farrago by being caught on camera calling an Argentinian opponent a ‘f****** ****’ and getting a £5,000 fine for allegedly making lewd comments to a female member of the hotel staff.
He came off the bench but could not prevent England losing their quarter-final against France in Auckland. A couple of weeks later, Haskell turned his back on the template for a modern international by briefly forsaking the chance to win more caps by signing for Ricoh Black Rams in Tokyo.
‘I went away to learn, not to escape, 100 per cent,’ said Haskell this week. ‘I travelled to play with some of the best players in the world, to make myself a better person and player.’
He lived in a small village outside Tokyo in a bright pink, three-bedroom house, a five-minute bike ride from the training ground.
Visitors were asked to take their shoes off before eating sushi crosslegged on the floor. He watched fascinated as local dog lovers pushed their pets in prams.
HOW did the loud, fast-talking Haskell fit i n amid the politesse of Japanese culture, with its bowing and eye-lowering? ‘I adapt to the culture I am in,’ he said. ‘I am easy like that. I don’t go in like the colonial Englishman.
‘Japan was the most different place I have been to. The attitude to business, to social hierarchy, is alien. People’s perception of you is important to the Japanese — the boss will work late so everybody stays until he leaves.
‘There were 60 people in the squad. That is a huge number to keep rotating. We travelled away on the bullet train. The nutrition was different, but I lapped it all up.
‘Their attitude to training was an eye-opener. Their attitude was that more is always better. But sometimes one hour of the right training is better than two hours of less efficient training.’
To this end he set up a post-training ‘Tackle Club’ to hone the skills of his teammates.
‘There were 12 professionals (including New Zealand’s World Cup-winning centre Ma’a Nonu) and the rest had ordinary jobs, many in factories,’ he added.
‘That is how rugby was back in the day but strange to someone who came off the modern conveyer belt.
‘People prepare differently. Cul- tures are different. When I started at Wasps, it was a very professional environment. Warren Gatland specialises in bringing in a team, buying into a culture, driving a very hard-nosed mentality and delivering performances – reasons he did so well with the Lions.
‘Other places don’t necessarily have that level of professionalism. You wake up on Christmas morning in the middle of Japan. It is freezing cold. No one celebrates. It is seven o’clock and you have got raw fish for breakfast. You are thinking, “Why am I doing this?”
‘That can rattle some people. Or, if you have experience of France, you use that as a tool to go: “Right, I’m going to play this game: put my music on, read my notes and treat it as any other day. That is what it taught me.’
Despite Haskell’s hard work, the Rams finished mid-table in the Top League. The 6ft 4in Englishman moved on after four months to fulfil his dream of playing in the Super 15 in New Zealand by joining the Highlanders.
According to his friend, Kiwi backrower Adam Thomson, Haskell was ‘very brash indeed’ and ‘got involved in everything’ after ‘coming with an open mind, learning as he went along and giving as much back’.
Even the Kiwis, the alphas of the rugby world, were clearly flummoxed by Haskell’s ruthless, rapidfire banter, but he was a popular team-mate and went hunting – rabbit, deer and pigs – with a group of pals.
‘He was very serious about the rugby,’ added Thomson.
‘He was well aware of fitness and nutrition. But he was not afraid to fail or make mistakes – a great character. I remember one time at an end-of-season dinner. We told him we bet he couldn’t take out the man holding the pizza sign.
‘Next thing he tackled him. He was half James’s size. He immediately felt bad and picked him up. That was typical James.
Haskell returned to Wasps in 2012, the remorseless search for self-improvement as a player running parallel to a fulfilling life beyond the white lines. He writes training blogs on his site JH Bodyfire, giving advice ontopics such as supplements, gym etiquette and calisthenics; is learning to become a DJ; and is aiming to become fluent in French and a black belt in jujitsu. He fears waking up at 75 and wondering what he has done with his life.
Little chance. Now his mind is on Ireland. As is his habit, he has been taking notes from analysis meetings this week. On match day he will be in contact with Travis Allan, a New Zealand rehabilitation specialist who is described as his life coach.
When Haskell was younger and he and his father, Jonathan, were trying to sell him to sponsors they talked of ‘Brand Haskell’, earning him the nickname ‘The Brand’ – at least behind his back.
But, a little older if still as ebullient, Haskell says he is not all mouth.
‘I am seen as this big London man, but I very rarely go out and am happy as long as I have decent coffee, my laptop and nice people around me. Perhaps I missed out on a few caps but I don’t regret my journey one bit.’