From welding at the family business to only match fee rugby contracts, Ollie Chessum has had an unconventional route into professional rugby. The Leicester Tigers lock opens up on how he avoided a Premiership academy route from his state school, growing up in rural Lincolnshire and taking on the big brother role for his two siblings following his parents’ split.

Chessum also reveals the importance of his friendship groups in camp, the challenge of finding size 15 boots as a teenager and the various nicknames he’s got from different players.

In this podcast you will also hear from Ollie's mum Michelle Chessum, his coach that introduced him to rugby Ben Pickard and teammate Will Stuart.

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There are few players who have had a rise in rugby like Henry Pollock; from starting a season playing in The Champ, to The Prem, reaching a Champions Cup final, scoring twice on your England debut and selection for British & Irish Lions, it has been an unprecedented rise for the Northampton Saints flanker.

The back row opens up on why self-expression, showing your personality and being yourself will always be an important characteristic, his mischievous childhood where he was asked to leave school lessons and why family values and work ethic means so much to him.

In this podcast you will also hear from one of his first coach’s Will Parkin as well as teammates Fin Smith and Fix Baxter.

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Being doubted is something that Fin Baxter has become comfortable with; his youthful looks often meant he felt he was targeted during his playing career, but how he has used that as motivation to get where he is. The Harlequins prop also talks about how he keeps perspective off the field, why he quit his Civil Engineering degree to study Economics and his on-off relationship with social media.

In this pod you will also here from Fin's dad Ian about coaching his son to watching him play for England, Joe Marler on what it was like to mentor him coming through at Quins, as well as teammates Fin Smith and Henry Pollock.

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From having to make the emotional choice between representing England or Scotland, to bailiffs threatening to enter his house in Worcester, Fin Smith has experienced more than most 23-year-olds. The Northampton Saints fly half discusses the hour-long conversation he had with his Scottish Rugby-loving dad on the decision to choose England, and then what it was like nailing a winning penalty in the Calcutta Cup.

A gifted sportsman, you will also hear how Fin called break on a promising tennis career to focus on rugby, how he went from a farce to embracing sports psychology, and what his British & Irish Lions selection meant to him following in the footsteps of his granddad. The self-confessed sore loser also discussed the pressure of playing number 10 and why he is studying a Economics and Mathematical Sciences degree alongside an international rugby career.

In this pod you will also here from Fin's dad Andrew, his sports psychologist Andrea Furst as well as team mates Fin Baxter and Henry Pollock.

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From finding herself struggling with mental health to focusing issues, Mackenzie Carson’s ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) diagnosis came as a welcome relief to some of her struggles. The Red Roses and Gloucester-Hartpury prop opens up on her diagnosis to her coach since she started medication, as well as calling England ‘home’ after growing up in Abbotsford, Canada, as well as some of the sacrifices she made to pursue her rugby career. She also tells the stories of her job as a barista, as well as what life is like dating, and scrummaging against, her Red Roses’ partner Sarah Bern, as the both play for different teams in Premiership Women’s Rugby.

You will also hear from one of her partner and fellow Red Rose Sarah Bern, one of first coaches Darcy Patterson, her mum Alison Reeves as well as international team mates Abi Burton and Morwenna Talling.

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For Morwenna Talling being born and bred in Yorkshire hits differently. The Sale Sharks lock and back row forward opens up as to why she values her northern upbringing so much and why she wants to help drive the game around where she grew up and now plays. Talling also reveals how he shock England call-up came as a teenager that saw her make a debut at 18, how some lengthy injury spells have helped her mindset, what being a leader means to her as well as the importance of mountain walks in her down time.

In this podcast you will also hear from Red Roses team mates Mackenzie Carson and Abi Burton, as well as her mum Janet Talling and her first rugby coach at Malton and Norton RUFC Ian Hepworth.

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After making peace with having to quit rugby because of injury, Emily Scarratt opens up on what it means to still be a Red Rose. The Loughborough Lightning centre talks about the neck surgery she had to go through with, growing up on a farm in Leicestershire and combining being a PE teacher with the start of her England career. The Red Roses’ record points scorer also open up in the origins and importance of her close friendship with Mo Hunt, how she deals with her introverted personality in camp and setting up her own podcast, The Good, The Scaz and The Rugby.

In this podcast you will also hear from Emily’s dad Mark, brother Joe as well as team mates Amy Cokayne and Sarah Bern.

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An induced coma, a psychiatric ward and three months with no memory are just some of the challenges Abi Burton had to overcome in the autumn of 2022. The Trailfinders Women back row reveals about her misdiagnosis with depression and stress, the aggression she showed towards her family and her eventual diagnoses of autoimmune encephalitis. The Great Britain 7s player also discusses her road back to rugby, realising a dream of going to the Olympics and her ‘rocky’ relationship with her image and body dysmorphia.

In this podcast you will also hear from her mum Sarah, research Mark Harper who identified her encephalitis as well as team mates Mackenzie Carson and Morwenna Talling.

For more on encephalitis please visit: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/encephalitis/

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