England prop shares the unlikely obsession driving his form

For tighthead prop Joe Heyes, it was a satisfying start. “The mood’s really good,” he says. “It was a nice feeling after the game. Everyone was relaxed, having some food, enjoying it. There’s a real bounce going into this week with Fiji.”

The celebration was low-key. “I spoiled myself with a small glass of red. There was mac and cheese out there, that was my refuel,” he laughs. “People went to bed early — we’re professional athletes now, so we can’t really get away with the big nights out like they used to.”

Off the field, Heyes has developed a reputation as England’s history buff. “Yeah, I love it,” he says. “My mum used to have Horrible Histories magazines everywhere when I was a kid. We had a big pile by the toilet, and I’d end up sitting there for an hour reading them.”

That early interest has followed him into camp life. “Sam Underhill’s taken on a bit of the social side now,” Heyes explains. “We mostly do quizzes. I took a history round last week — apparently it was too hard. Nobody knew General Custer died at the Battle of Little Bighorn. That was quite frustrating.”

When he’s not quizzing teammates, Heyes keeps things simple. His England shirts and medals are stored away in the garage. “As soon as I get home, it’s time to reset,” he says. “If I get too much of the same thing, it can become a bit of a drag. My house is my home — I leave rugby at the door.”

That sense of balance has been important over the past year. Heyes admits that missing out on England squads last season was tough but also a turning point. “I wasn’t happy with how I played that year,” he says. “I knew I had to improve and find love for the game again. Michael Cheika helped me with that. He made me enjoy the things I’m good at — scrummaging and defence — and that helped me a lot.”

A strong summer tour in Argentina allowed Heyes to rebuild confidence and consistency. “It was a good opportunity,” he says. “It was a tough crowd, a tough opponent, and I got a run of games. That gave me rhythm. My big worry was not carrying that consistency into the new season, but I caught myself in pre-season and tried to replicate it. I’m happy with how I’ve started, but there’s still a couple of levels I can reach.”

Naturally, at the heart of Heyes’s game is the scrum — an area where England have tightened up significantly. “Control is a big one,” he explains. “We want to be a ruthless scrum, but we don’t want to give away silly penalties for things like over-leaning or going too early.

"We’re much more self-disciplined now. He's (Tom Harrison) done a good job at putting those pictures in, in terms of being a good, clean and honest, not an honest scrum, but a good, clean scrum in terms of we're still dominant but not giving away stupid penalties. I think he's done a great job in painting that black and white for us, so credit to him."

Heyes is quick to credit his teammates too. “Jamie George and Ellis Genge are brilliant leaders around the scrum. It’s not one person’s responsibility — there are nine front rowers in the squad, and everyone has a part to play.”

Growing up, Heyes idolised Dan Cole, another Leicester and England tighthead. “He was the guy,” he says. “You’d get excited when someone dropped the ball because you knew Coley was going to scrum. That was what Tigers' rugby was about — scrummaging and defence. If I go well in those two areas, I’ve had a good game.”

With Cole at the end of his career now, Heyes is aware of the legacy he’s part of. “There’s a line of great Leicester tightheads — Castrogiovanni, Julian White, Coley. You have to respect that, but you also want to create your own. The No. 3 shirt’s mine at the moment, and I want to leave it in the best place for the next person.”