Former England fullback Mike Brown is preparing for life after rugby and even admits he wants to broaden his horizons in a sport like football.
The 37-year-old, who recently signed a one year extension with Leicester Tigers until the end of the 2023/24 season, Is currently studying for a Masters of Sporting Directorship.
“I’m in a weird grey area,” he revealed to the Mail Online.
“I’m still able to play — and I’d love an opportunity to play if everything aligns — but there are no gigs out there. I’m pushing on with my transition into life after rugby and I guess we’ll see what comes first.
“I’m not going to sit here hanging on, waiting for one last pay cheque. If something else comes up then I’ll take it. Everyone in sport has to go through it at some point and for me it could be now. It’s not the way I imagined it finishing but I’ve loved it and that’s life.
“Training on your own can be a bit bleak when you’ve used to the team environment for so long,’ he says. ‘When there’s no obvious end goal you have to find a way to motivate yourself. You have your ups and downs.
“Of course I’m sad about it but as time goes by that feeling becomes a little less intense. I’ve had help from Craig White, learning coping mechanisms to deal with the bad moments, negative thoughts and the uncertainty. It’s important to keep a busy routine.
“I’ve been lucky. Jordan Turner-Hall invited me down to Worthing and asked me to get involved to give me some experience. It’s an opportunity to see things from a different angle, dip my toe into coaching and share my experiences.
“People have a perception of me in rugby — direct, challenging — so outside of rugby it’s been easier to show the side that’s curious, interested and driven. I look at Ben Ryan’s role with Brentford. I’d love to do something like that. I’d love to broaden my horizons in a sport like football and add the value of my rugby career.
“Where I want to get to is a high-performance, leadership role in elite sport; building it, developing it, sustaining it. I’ve worked with so many coaches, in many different environments, and you experience what works, what doesn’t, and now I’m learning even more from spending time in other sports.”
Read his entire interview with the Mail Online here.
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“12 players left at home” – England’s 2023 Rugby World Cup squad as it stands
Steve Borthwick has made it abundantly clear in a recent media session, that he is being up-front with his players regarding their chances of making the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Borthwick has left selection ambiguity behind in the Eddie Jones era, and is reportedly in constant communication with his players ahead of the trip to France. Borthwick is tasked with the challenge of cutting down his wider training squad to 33 players, and has been vocally clear-cut with his side at Pennyhill Park.
Borthwick told The Guardian: “I believe players want to know exactly where they stand.” “In week one and two, we had players come in and I sat with them straight away and said: ‘This is where you stand and this is what I think you need to do to move forward.’”
“That’s the first thing I do. Why? As a player, I always remember that I wanted to know what I needed to do. I didn’t want ambiguity. My job was to get on with rugby and train, not to be second-guessing anything.”
On Saturday August 5th, England will take on Wales in Cardiff, before Borthwick announces his 33-man squad on the following Monday, August 7th. Borthwick will then finalise his squad, and continue on with the Rugby World Cup warm-up preparations. England are booked in with a return fixture against Warren Gatland’s side at Twickenham, before facing Ireland in Dublin, and then Fiji back at ‘HQ’.
England then kick-off their Rugby World Cup in Marseille, in a hotly anticipated clash against Argentina on the 9th of September. Here are RUCK’s predictions for the positional hierarchy, for England’s Rugby World Cup squad pecking order.
Note – This 33-man squad is dependent on the fact that all of the named players in the 41-man wider training group are match fit and available for selection, currently injured players have an asterisk next to their name.
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FIRST CHOICE SQUAD
Front Row
1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
2. Jamie George (Saracens)
3. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears)
Locks
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens)
5. Ollie Chessum* (Leicester Tigers)
Back Row
6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
7. Jack Willis (Toulouse)
8. Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
Halfbacks
9. Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
10. Owen Farrell (Saracens)
Centres
12. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
13. Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks)
Back Three
11. Anthony Watson (Leicester Tigers)
14. Max Malins (Saracens)
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)