Returning To Rugby

Hey, what is up? Welcome back to today's video. I've got an absolute treat for you guys, and basically I'm just about to head off to Myprotein HQ right now, and I'm gonna grab the video team, meet a couple members of staff, show you guys around, and then we are heading off to the Warrington Wolves stadium. Now what's going to be going on there is I'm gonna be put through a few challenges, do a bit of training with them, and the reason why this is so awesome is because rugby— a lot of you will know this— but rugby was what got me into the weights room first ever. I wanted to get big for rugby. It's something that I played for 6 years, if not more, and it's a sport that I still love to this day. So I can't wait to get kitted out, get back on the pitch, get back in that atmosphere, and see how I do. A little bit nervous. Hope I've still got a little bit of skill left in me, but if not, it'll be funny. Either way, we'll see how it is. Sit back, relax, give the video a thumbs up right now, and enjoy. We're trying to get all staff and all the busters to have their own little like Polaroid selfie, so you'll be getting one of these in about 5 Very nice. So yeah, if you come back this way, it's a nice wall. That's the sexiest one in the Myprotein office. Where, where is he? Yeah, great to see you, bro. All right, so I'm going on the Myprotein Wall of Fame, first ever ambassador athlete to go up on it. So I'm gonna pick a good space. All right, stick me beside the CEO. And there we go, people. Yeah, now fishy member of the team, man. Everyone in the Myprotein HQ is balling out. Serious wheels everywhere. Got range. It's not mine. Oh really? All right, people, here we are, Warrington Wolves Stadium. Let's get this thing started. We meet again. How's things? Not too bad. What's up? Good to see it. So we're here in the Warrington Wolves changing room, and here is my kit for today. So let's get changed.

What teams did you play for and what position?

So I started playing rugby for Clongowes Wood College. It's the school that I went to. It's one of the best rugby schools in the entire country, and I started playing in first year when I was about 12 or 13 years old, and I played all the way right up until sixth year. And that is when I was on the senior cup panel. I didn't make the starting team, but we were so good, we won the cup that year. I was just delighted to even be on the squad and play with some amazing people. And then when I left school, I played for Terenure College RFC for about a year.

When you played rugby, what was your training schedule like?

This is actually what I love the most about it. So Clongoweswood College is a boarding school, so we had a very full-on training schedule. So we'd have weights in the morning before school, after school we'd have our pitch sessions, and then the night before a game we'd even have another session in the evening, which would be like a team run is what it's called. So you'd go over the drills or the moves or the plays that you'd be doing in tomorrow's game. So yeah, it was like some days you'd have 3 training sessions a day, but I loved it.

Uh, what was your funniest story from off the pitch?

Off the pitch, it would probably be when we went on a tour to Portugal the whole squad went, and we have this thing called kangaroo court, and that's basically when— I don't even know how to describe it. It's like you do a bunch of dares and you're like, lock yourselves in the hotel lounge or the hotel conference room, and basically to kind of like give you a taste of it, I ended up eating like a tin of cat food. There's some alcohol involved as well.

Uh, what was your funniest rugby story from on the pitch?

On the pitch would have to be when I was playing down in Cork. I forget the exact team, it could have been Cork Conn, I think it was. But basically I caught the ball in R22 and I sidestepped a couple people, started running the pitch, and when it came to me and the fullback to go in for the try, the fullback went to tackle me and he slipped. It was just really funny. Ended up scoring an absolute banger of a try, and when I touched the ball down, I like kicked it up in the air and I go, That is what happens when you take pre-workout before a game. I was off my head.

Have you ever suffered from any injuries?

Yes, I have torn my ACL joint in the past, and I was in a sling for a couple of weeks as well. But thankfully it healed. It wasn't a bad tear, it healed quite fast, and I was back playing in a couple of weeks. I know a few people who've been so unlucky with injuries, and they're like very injury-prone. But thankfully I've been quite lucky on that front.

What is the camaraderie like when you're playing rugby?

I think that is probably the best thing about team sports, and it is the brotherhood, it's the friends you make, it's the social aspect. And that's one thing that is sometimes lacking when you're just into fitness and the weights room, is that sometimes you do miss out on some of that camaraderie. So again, you know, I lived with these guys in school, we trained so often together, we went on tours together. Played matches together, and so you really just make friends for life, and there's just a really good, um, just kind of team feel to it. And even like on the way in the bus to matches, that would always be so much fun. So it's amazing.

Pre-match rituals?

Uh, it would be a little bit of caffeine, you know, some pre-workout, and then a good solid meal. And then on the bus, uh, when I really wanted to get in the zone, I'd get a good music playlist, uh, some heavy rap R&B or even some rock music, some EDM, and I just get in the zone. Music, even in the gym nowadays, music helps me tremendously.

Who are your favorite players?

My favorite players are definitely the people I actually know and used to play with or even went to school with. So, you know, it's two of my best friends, Jordan Coughlan, who signed with Nottingham, Connor Gilsonan, who signed with London Irish. I've even played with the Burnsey twins who are with Leinster. Kjaerter Timmens. I've been lucky to play and train with some really good people, and even when I'm watching TV and there's a lad that I know who's playing, it's always just a good feeling. You feel a bit more involved. So yeah, I've been lucky to meet some really awesome players, and I just love watching the people I know. Got it in one! Okay, you know what it is. It is about to go down. Nando's standardness. We went for double, double, because protein, double chicken breast burger. And I've got some sweet potato wedges. Such a solid meal, one of my favorite meals ever. I think Nando's is like, it's like communal worldwide, gym accepted vibes. Like everyone just loves it, you can't go wrong with it. So gonna dig into this now. Okay guys, update, I'm in Hale Country Club, which is like one of the nicest establishments I've ever been to, ever. Myprotein sort me out with like this little kind of like VIP day pass, so I think get food as well, and like a spa as well. So come in here, fruit bowl, fancy water, and then look at these changing rooms, they're so nice. It's like my own little place. There's my douche bags. So yeah, I'm gonna get a gym session in and then hit the spa afterwards for the day and try to get a YouTube upload and some emails done as well. I'm so happy. It's a long day, but we are getting a session in. I'm with Sophia Aris. A long day playing, uh, some rugby with the Wolves and we do not skip sessions, so we're getting an upper body session here as well. Absolutely. I felt like I wasn't prepared for this, but now I am. There you go. And she is currently in prep, so yeah, game on. Okay, so I decided to do a voiceover for this workout and just use it as a time to chat to you people. First of all, I hope you like today's video. There will be more footage of me playing rugby going up on the Myprotein YouTube channel, so I'll link them below. Anyone who's ever in my videos I always do my best to link their details in the description box. Share the love, plenty of room at the top, as the saying goes. So there was a comment on one of my last videos, and I love the comment section. Not only is it funny, but it gives me a good feedback on how to improve my videos, as I'm always looking to level up. And the comment said, Rob, we want more training and cooking videos like you used to make. And I haven't had a full day of eating where I showed me cooking in such a long time. And that is because I've of course been moving around a lot and haven't had access to a decent kitchen. But basically I like to plan out my months, and May is going to be a month where I up my work rate a bit, settle down more, and get back to basics. So May, I'll be moving into a new apartment for the year, and I've already picked out a few options with a nice kitchen, so I'm looking forward to narrowing it down and deciding on one. I will also be in Ireland for most of May as I have an event on every single week. It is time to grind. We have that talk on mental health straight away when I get back. We've got Wellfest on the 6th and 7th of May, which is like an outdoor health and fitness event in Herbert Park in Dublin where I'm giving a talk with plenty of good food stalls. So really excited for that. We've BodyPower in Birmingham, which is 12th to the 14th. That will simply be crazy. Then we have Blogger Conference in the Mansion House in Dublin on the 20th, where I'll be giving a talk on growing a YouTube channel and social media marketing in general. So I like how each event is actually a different genre and topic. You know, we got mental health, we got fitness, we got social media marketing. So I will link everything in the description box for all these events if you want to attend. And then that wraps up most of May, but I think I'd like to add in a Dublin meetup in there too, perhaps. Comment down below if you'd be down for some Lipsett and chill. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed rest of the video. Thanks for watching, give it a thumbs up, keep it real, peace. All right people, so that is the workout done and now it's time for my favorite part of Hale Country Club and that is the spa. It is unbelievable. Nearly— I nearly forgot to vlog this and it looks so good. That would—

I am sorry about it.

It would have been— oh yeah, Sophie's already gone hard on hers, like she's made a rice show of it. But, uh, it would be a disgrace not show you guys how pretty this sushi looks. Look at that. We're just discussing how sushi is apparently a work of art in Japan. I could be wrong, but either way, we're going to dig into this now and enjoy. All right, people, finishing up this vlog here now. Epic day. We had rugby, gym, lifting, spa day, sushi. So I hope you enjoyed. Give it a thumbs up. I'll see you in the next one. Peace.