BLOND AMBITION
Former England rugby captain Chris Robshaw, 33, reveals how he keeps fit, the importance of backing the LGBTQ community and why he has to avoid swimming pools for a while
Former England rugby captain Chris Robshaw is to dye for...
First, I have to ask about your hair. It’s a great new look for you, what made you decide to dye it?
[ Laughs] I’ve been wanting to do it for a while now. It was around Christmas time I thought about it; I’d seen a lot of people had bleached their hair, then Zac Efron did it and a friend of mine followed suit. I just thought it looked really good, so I kept saying to myself: “I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna do it”, then my wife said: “Stop talking about it and bloody do it!”
Any negative reactions?
There’s been a little bit of stick, mostly from the rest of the Harlequins team, as you can imagine.
As a professional rugby player, what is your average week like?
We normally play matches on Saturdays, so Sundays are for resting. On Monday, we’ll go in for training and if anyone is injured they’ll see the physios. The rest of us will have massages and do some light training, then meet to discuss the weekend’s game and work out what we did well and what we need to fix. Tuesday and Wednesday tend to be our big days in terms of the work load: we’ll do heavy leg and big defensive sessions on Tuesday, and Wednesday will be an upper body and power session in the weight room, plus working out all the tactics and planning for the upcoming game. Thursday is our day off but that doesn’t mean just sitting on the sofa, most guys will go to a yoga class or for a swim. On Friday, we have a thing called a captain’s run, so we go on to the pitch with our confirmed line ups. Then we have a final team meeting, which is like a dress rehearsal. Plus, we’ll travel that night if we need to.
What’s your regime like during the off- season?
You have to have a minimum of five weeks off, but you still have to come back in reasonable shape. You can’t just spend that time partying, or eating and drinking whatever you want because you might be in a bit of trouble on your first day back. Before that break starts, you have a skin caliper body fat test, and another on the first day back. If you’ve enjoyed the break too much, then you have to go into “fat camp”.
There’s a rugby fat camp?
Yeah, it sounds pretty tough. We have fitness tests on the first day back and you have to hit certain levels otherwise you have an extra day of fitness to complete. I do a lot of HIIT or boxing classes — something different to rugby training — or the gym because you do also need that mental refresh.
Do you prefer those opportunities to mix it up?
Yeah, I do. It almost becomes quite a social thing. I go with my wife and some friends, then go for brunch afterwards… and put all the weight back on! But maybe that’s just because I’m getting a bit older.
As a former England captain, you’re quite well known. Does your training schedule have an impact on your ability to attend social events or events that you’d like to go to?
Rugby comes first. It takes a lot
“My wife told me to
stop talking about
it and just do it”