"Cross-Country and Triathlons" - England centre Seb Atkinson reveals how he became rugby's fittest player

While Atkinson's skill set has grown on the pitch, it’s the midfielders fitness that has truly set him apart. Earlier this year, he recorded a time of 4 minutes and 8 seconds in the Bronco test – a brutal running drill used to measure rugby conditioning. That mark didn’t just top the Premiership. It eclipsed Beauden Barrett’s score by four seconds, Hugo Keenan's by three and is now the best in the rugby world.

“I didn’t really know how fit I was and then just started to go and kept on going,” he said, still sounding a little surprised. “Put in a pretty good score which will be tough to beat next pre-season but what can you do.”

“It’s something that I’ve always been big on. My background was always running, cross-country running and triathlons. I think I just enjoyed it more than anything.”

Now, he’s doing just that on the biggest stage of his career. Stepping into England camp has been full of challenges, but Atkinson is soaking it all in.

“It’s full on, the intensity’s high,” he said. “You feel welcomed but also you’re here to compete and do your best, so there’s a bit of an edge.”

That edge, however, comes with gratitude. Messages poured in from Gloucester coaches and teammates when the news broke of his call-up. “They’re a big reason why we’re all here. So I feel really grateful to all of them.”

Among those teammates was scrum-half Tomos Williams, a player with plenty of Test experience and someone who is away with the British and Irish Lions this summer.

“He’s a really, really skillful player,” Atkinson said. “He’d let you know in his way if you’re not doing quite what you should be doing. And at the same time he’d be the first one to pat you on the back and say well done. Definitely learnt a lot from him.”

Atkison started the uncapped England XV fixture this past Saturday, and lined up in the centres against an imposing French XV outfit of Gael Fickou and Emilien Gailleton. Atkinson started alongside his fellow West Country man Henry Slade, and put in an impressive performance in the hit out at the Allianz Stadium. Despite coming away from Twickenham on the losing side of a dramatic 26-24 battle, Atkinson relished the moment and did himself plenty of favours for a call-up on the international tour to Argentina.

“This is the kind of thing you’ve been dreaming of ever since you started playing rugby,” he said. “So, if you’re too worried about it then you don’t make the most of it.”

Now, after an impressive individual campaign, Atkinson made his England debut this weekend in the non-cap clash between England XV and France XV at Twickenham. It was a big moment for the Bromsgrove-born midfielder, who admitted arriving at England camp for the first time came with the same vibes as his first day at school.

“Yeah, definitely,” he said with a smile. “Coming in and getting the kit and all the rest of it. It’s exciting times.”

Atkinson has quietly gone about building one of the most complete centre games in the Premiership, combining work rate and physicality with composure and attacking sharpness. That combination, along with a standout fitness level, caught the eye of Steve Borthwick earlier this year. After an encouraging phone call from the England head coach, Atkinson made a deliberate effort to meet the challenge laid down.

“The big thing that he went on about was the physicality of international rugby being a completely different level to the Premiership,” Atkinson said. “So I made a conscious effort to show that in the last six or seven Premiership games. I feel like I’ve got quite a balanced game, but definitely tried to show that physicality both on and off the ball.”

Borthwick wasn’t the only one to notice. Gloucester fans were treated to some electric rugby at Kingsholm this season, with Atkinson right in the thick of it. Those performances were largely helped by the attacking freedom that the Cherry and Whites have played with and he was quick to credit his club coaches.

“We were really grateful to Skivs (Gloucester head coach George Skivington) for giving us the freedom to play,” Atkinson explained. “And then within that James Lightfoot Brown, our attack coach, gave us the structure and the detail as a team to get connected and put that into action. Dom Waldouck as well, our defence coach, helped with that grit, learning how to get the ball back so we can attack.”