MENSHEALTH.CO.UK MEN’S HEALTH 57
to get the best performance-boosting
benefits from its functions. A female rep
films the entire episode on her iPhone.
Safely back in his Range Rover, Haskell
admits it was a strange situation. “But
I see these things as an opportunity to
learn,” he says between mouthfuls of
chocolate protein porridge from a bowl
between his legs and the steering wheel.
“If it can get me back to playing 2-3%
better then I would be a fool to ignore it.
I’ve made it my business to cherry-pick
valuable information from other sports
and things like this. If you don’t give them
a try you don’t know. The only people who
know everything are in the graveyard.”
TRUCK AND MAUL
James Haskell loves dumper trucks.
Leaving the incident in the pub behind
him, he drives straight to the Leamington
Spa site of Thwaites, a dumper truck
manufacturer that produces trucks from
1 to 10 tonnes, with every part crafted,
bolted and welded together, finished and
tested on site before being sent out to
distributors. For him, this is Disneyland.
“I’ve just always been into dumper
trucks and diggers,” he says, as we pull
on steel-capped boots, hi-vis vests and
safety helmets for a tour. “Chloe doesn’t
get it. For her brother’s stag-do we went
to Diggerland, and he wasn’t keen either.
But by the end of the day he was hooked.”
As well as the factory tour, Haskell is
shown around the offices, stopping at
every department for handshakes with
the employees before being shuffled on
to finance, sales and the rest. With all
the flesh pressed, he is walked out to the
testing ground. Over the next hour and
a half he drives around perched atop a
9-tonne dumper, the hard-nosed veteran
of hundreds of top-flight rugby games
rendered almost small in comparison.
Load emptied, Haskell jumps up into
a digger and expertly refills the truck,
raking in sods of soil and dropping them
in the hopper; even patting them down
with the underside of the claw. It is the
most peaceful he has seemed in two days.
“It’s like meditation,” he says after,walking back to the car with a bulging bag
of Thwaites-branded apparel. “My days are
so full-on that it’s nice to just concentrate
on a proper job for a bit – fill it up, drive it
round, empty it. If nobody had told me to
stop, I’d have been there all night.”
On the drive to drop MH back at Rugby
station, he calls to cancel his scheduled
trip to London for some physiotherapy on
his toe. Finally, it seems, even he needs to
take his foot off the accelerator.
“I’m going home to get into the ‘duvet
office’ on the sofa with Chloe. Do a bit of
work. That’s my favourite way to relax.
“We’re talking about getting a dog,
actually,” he says. “I’d like one. But I’m
worried our lives are too busy.”COVER MODEL MUSCLE
JAMES HASKELLWITH A FORMIDABLE
19-STONE FRAME,
STAYING LEAN AND FAST
REQUIRES HARD GRAFTROUGH AND
TUMBLE
Haskell has done
more than most
over his 13-year
career. Though
things haven’t all
been rosy...HASKELL’S WORKOUT
2002
Haskell becomes
the youngest
debutant player
in Wasps history,
aged 18, while also
making inroads
for England Under
19s and 21s.2003
As part of
a formidable
Wasps side,
he helps to win
four Premiership
and two European
titles between
2003 and 2009.2009
Joins French side
Stade Français
in 2009. A feud
between club and
country sees him
depart the club
at the end of the
2010-2011 season.2011
He continues his
career away from
England joining
Ricoh Black Rams
in Japan. Also part
of England squad
for 2011 World Cup
quarterfinal.2011
Joins the
Highlanders in
New Zealand to
pursue dream of
playing Super
Rugby. However,
he only makes 12
appearances.2015
Rejoins Wasps,
but struggles to
get game-time
internationally
under former
coach Stuart
Lancaster, starting
only once in the
2015 World Cup.2016
Becomes a
squad stalwart,
starting every
game in England’s
unbeaten 2016
Six Nations and
putting in a man-
of-the-match
performance
against Australia.