England Rugby Podcast: O2 Inside Line

Playing through a game while her dad was on the other side of the world after being rushed to hospital was one of the hardest experiences Alex Matthews has ever faced on a rugby pitch. The double World Cup winner reveals how she fought back tears at scrum time after learning a tumour had been found on her father’s spinal cord. The Gloucester-Hartpury back-row also discusses life in camp as an intr...

Before the biggest tournament of her career, Kelsey Clifford had to deal with the passing of her grandad and the pain of his absence ahead of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup win. The Saracens prop opens up on the grief she had to deal with pre and post-tournament and some of the things she had to process to help her become a world champion. Clifford also reveals the weight-loss targets she was se...

Growing up on a farm in a small hamlet in Devon, Emma Sing was surrounded by cows, lambs and loved jumping around hay bales. The Gloucester-Hartpury full back talks about how she still adds her weight to farm work alongside her Red Roses career and studying Bioveterinary Science at university so she could give back to the family farm. Sing also talks about being scouted by Exeter City Football Clu...

Missing out on World Cup selection in 2022 ‘shattered’ Mo Hunt’s world; she got drunk, turned her phone off and had to deal with thought of her mum quitting her job to watch her in a tournament she was now no longer playing in. The Gloucester-Hartpury scrum half discusses battling back from that time to her life before being a professional rugby player as a PE teacher, giving up chocolate and drin...

Five nights in hospital with juvenile idiopathic arthritis is a blur for Guy Pepper; he was just seven years old. The Bath Rugby forward reveals how, despite ongoing steroid injections, his diagnosis only strengthened his drive to compete. Pepper also discusses being taught and coached at school by his dad, rooming with Henry Pollock on England duty, and the truth behind his love of clothes shoppi...

From cognitive behavioral therapy, to body confidence issues and a night that resulted in him being arrested, Joe Heyes has had more hurdles than most to overcome off the pitch. The Leicester Tigers' prop talks candidly about his sporting heritage, his grandfather and dad were both professional goalkeepers, while his mum played basketball for Ireland, explains why he left a potential football care...

After a childhood of 'tantrums', Fraser Dingwall reveals how he developed fierce competitive instincts on the pitch and in the classroom, and how a potential career in football was a possibility before focusing on rugby. The Northampton Saints centre talks about growing up with a Scottish dad and Geordie mum that has seen him representing both nations at rugby, and how his journey to Test ruby wit...

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 imp...

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 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.&nbs...

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...

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...

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 the shock England call-up came as a teenager that saw her make a debut at 18, how some lengthy injury spells have help...

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 im...

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...

From a football-loving childhood in Carlisle, touring with Jonny Wilkinson at 18 to balancing a university lifestyle with professional rugby, England head coach Steve Borthwick tells his story of how, and why, leading his country means so much to him. Away from the game he opens up about his Masters in Management helped shaped his philosophy, how he gets joy in other's happiness now and the profou...

From quitting drinking and gaming, to buying a horse and becoming a father, Sale Sharks hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie opens up to England Rugby Podcast: O2 Inside Line about his life and career so far. From starting off in Cornwall not knowing rugby could be a career, to being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation during a game and his lifelong friendship with Jack Nowell, 'Dickie' reveals some of the sto...

Not only did Tom Willis grow up with brother Jack and sister Annabelle, but the back row forward reveals how it was growing up as part of a family who fostered children during his childhood. The Saracens number eight also opens up on the difficulty of facing his brother for the first time on the pitch, as well as the joy of playing together, what it was like being made redundant from Wasps and how...

Leaving your family and friends to move halfway across to the world and pursue a potential career is not for everyone, but Chandler Cunningham-South explains the reasoning for wanting to come ‘home’ to play. The Harlequins back-row forward explains life growing up in New Zealand, his matchday superstitions and book-writing ritual, his special relationship with his mum and his love of London. In th...

Before his retirement, Anthony Watson sat down to talk about topics that are important to him. From growing up in England and struggling with his Nigerian heritage, how rugby helped him get over his childhood shyness and how the importance of a visualisation with a sports coach became in his career because of nerves. You will also hear from his brother Marcus Watson, sports psychologist and mind c...

From growing up on a dairy farm to the international stage, England senior assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth has had a intriguing upbringing that has made him who he is today. The former scrum half opens up on his upbringing, the respect for his dad who had a heart transplant to secret story of crying ahead of his last playing game, he opens up on what still motivates him. In this pod you will...

After nearly having his life taken away from him because of sepsis, England assistant coach Andrew Strawbridge has a transformed outlook on life. After falling ill during a work trip to Samoa, Strawbridge received medical treatment but need to be put into a coma, he was resuscitated a couple of times and had said goodbye to his wife thinking he might not survive the illness. He reveals what he wen...

The same day he was asked to be England captain, Jamie George found out his mum had been diagnosed with cancer.    In this podcast, the Saracens hooker reveals the joy his mum got from watching him lead England, and how it kept her positive in her final months. How he had to balance his emotions when his first child was born 10 days after her passing and how his England teammates support...

Having had to cope with a teenage diagnosis of epilepsy and being let go from an academy because of his size, Tommy Freeman has overcome many hurdles to make it as a rugby player. The Northampton Saints back opens up on his epileptic seizure that he thought was going to end his rugby career, how he mentally and physically had to deal with his late growth spurt and bouncing back from being replaced...

From thriving while playing in a boys' team to embracing her dyslexia, Sarah Bern has always overcome challenges presented to her. The Bristol Bears and Red Roses prop opens up on a number of issues including how her dyslexia and dyspraxia affect her playing international rugby, how she began to accept her broader body size after struggling at school and why she wants to inspire her ADHD autistic...