Balance September 2019 - 19

"LES MISERABLES
IS A MASTERPIECE"
The England star on his love of the West End, how sport
helped him grow and winning the Rugby World Cup
What age were you when you realised,
'I'm quite tasty at rugby'?
I started playing around 11, and was called
into the Saracens Academy at 14. When I was
15 or so, I thought if I dedicated myself to it, this
could actually be my full-time thing.
What was it like committing yourself
at such a young age?
I didn't lack confidence when I was a child,
but I wasn't the most confident person. Rugby
helped grow my confidence, not even from a
physical point of view but a mental one, too. It
allowed me to reach people and connect with
those you may not have similarities with, who
you can bond with over sport. It enabled me to
socialise with people who I'd sometimes just
meet for the day, or a couple of weeks, from
different backgrounds and environments. It
helped me do that very well. Rugby has given
me so much, and I knew if I wanted it to be my
job, I would have to dedicate myself to it. I was
talented and I did have a good genetic makeup,
but there was a big bridge to run over; for me
to get to where I wanted to be
required a lot of hard work.

WORDS James Gill

Where do you keep all of
your winners' medals?
They're all stored away right
now, and I don't have that many
up. I'm actually moving house
soon, so everything's in boxes
at the moment. I'm gonna have
somewhere for all of that stuff,
but I don't really want my home
to be a trophy room. I collect a
few pieces of Nigerian art, and
I would much prefer they're on
the wall than my shirts and stuff.
Not to say I'm not proud of those,
but I think you've got to have a bit
of balance.
Go on...
Hopefully if I win the World Cup,
I'll make sure I get that on the
wall. That one will get special
treatment! Besides that, I don't
know... If you have your medals
on display at home, somewhere
you want to relax and switch off,

you'll always be reminded of it. But to have a
space where it's completely free of that stuff
is actually quite nice.
England are among the favourites...
Yeah. We have a good team, a very good
team, with decent players, a great coach
and a wonderful coaching staff. The support
staff are amazing as well. I know the boys are
really hard at work.
When it comes to prepping, are you
a good sleeper?
I'm an OK sleeper, and I think it has improved
over the course of the last couple of years.
Sleep deprivation is a form of torture, so
it's no surprise when they want to make
someone uncomfortable, they make sure you
don't sleep! That in itself should highlight
the importance of sleep... I also learn about
my patterns with the Simba sleep app. It
shows how deep a sleep I get, and it's a good
way of monitoring whether I'm getting my
eight hours.

MANUAL
THE
SPORT
QUIZ

What do you do for balance?
I listen to a load of different podcasts and
audiobooks, and I absolutely love theatre. I'm
a huge fan of musicals. There are a few I want
to see at the moment, especially Tina - The
Tina Turner Musical. Have you seen it?
Mate, I'd love to! What musicals have
you been rocking recently?
I've been to Les Miserables, The Bodyguard,
The Lion King, Billy Elliot and Fela!, a Nigerian
musical. Living in London, you can't get away
from Les Mis... What's the little girl's name?
She was on the buses and tubes celebrating
the 25th anniversary for about 10 years! I've
always seen it. I first saw it when I was on
a flight to Dubai and the movie was out, so
I thought I'd watch it. I put my earphones
in and I was so engaged. Afterwards, I took
a big breath and I was like "What have I just
watched? I've watched a masterpiece!" I've
since bought the DVD, watched it again and
then went to see it in the theatre when I was
in Dubai. It was just unbelievable.
Is it better live than on film, then?
It's always difficult when you compare the
movie to the live performance because they
just do it differently. Especially to the one
you're used to. You always compare it to
that. So for example, I've watched Dreamgirls
the movie, which is unbelievable, then saw
Dreamgirls the musical. I sat there and I was
like "Nah, Beyoncé didn't do it like that. Nah,
Jamie Foxx doesn't sing it like that. Hmmm
that's OK, but Eddie [Murphy] sang it a little
bit better". It's always difficult.
England rugby player Maro Itoje has
teamed up with Simba Sleep's #TryFor8
campaign and the new Simba Sleep app,
which helps improve sleep performance
and track your way to better sleep.
Download now on iOS and Android

MY MEDALS ARE
PACKED AWAY IN
BOXES. IF WE WIN
THE WORLD CUP,
THAT WILL GET
SPECIAL TREATMENT
19



Balance September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Balance September 2019

Balance September 2019 - 1
Balance September 2019 - 2
Balance September 2019 - 3
Balance September 2019 - 4
Balance September 2019 - 5
Balance September 2019 - 6
Balance September 2019 - 7
Balance September 2019 - 8
Balance September 2019 - 9
Balance September 2019 - 10
Balance September 2019 - 11
Balance September 2019 - 12
Balance September 2019 - 13
Balance September 2019 - 14
Balance September 2019 - 15
Balance September 2019 - 16
Balance September 2019 - 17
Balance September 2019 - 18
Balance September 2019 - 19
Balance September 2019 - 20
Balance September 2019 - 21
Balance September 2019 - 22
Balance September 2019 - 23
Balance September 2019 - 24
Balance September 2019 - 25
Balance September 2019 - 26
Balance September 2019 - 27
Balance September 2019 - 28
Balance September 2019 - 29
Balance September 2019 - 30
Balance September 2019 - 31
Balance September 2019 - 32
Balance September 2019 - 33
Balance September 2019 - 34
Balance September 2019 - 35
Balance September 2019 - 36
Balance September 2019 - 37
Balance September 2019 - 38
Balance September 2019 - 39
Balance September 2019 - 40
Balance September 2019 - 41
Balance September 2019 - 42
Balance September 2019 - 43
Balance September 2019 - 44
Balance September 2019 - 45
Balance September 2019 - 46
Balance September 2019 - 47
Balance September 2019 - 48
Balance September 2019 - 49
Balance September 2019 - 50
Balance September 2019 - 51
Balance September 2019 - 52
Balance September 2019 - 53
Balance September 2019 - 54
Balance September 2019 - 55
Balance September 2019 - 56
Balance September 2019 - 57
Balance September 2019 - 58
Balance September 2019 - 59
Balance September 2019 - 60
Balance September 2019 - 61
Balance September 2019 - 62
Balance September 2019 - 63
Balance September 2019 - 64
Balance September 2019 - 65
Balance September 2019 - 66
Balance September 2019 - 67
Balance September 2019 - 68
Balance September 2019 - 69
Balance September 2019 - 70
Balance September 2019 - 71
Balance September 2019 - 72
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BALANCE_MARCH_2020
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BALANCE_FEBRUARY_2020
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/balancejanuary2020
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BALANCE_DECEMBER_2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BALANCE_NOVEMBER_19
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BALANCE_OCTOBER_2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/balanceseptember2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/balancejuly2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/Balance_June_2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/balancemay2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/balance_april_2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceMarch19
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceFebruary19
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJanuary2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceDecember2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceNovember2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceOctober2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceSeptember2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceAugust2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJuly2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJune2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceMay2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceApril2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceMarchIssue2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceFebruary18
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJanIssue2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/balancedecember2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/balancenovember2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceOctober2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceSeptIssue2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJulyIssue2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJuneIssue2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceMayIssue2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceAprilIssue2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceMarchIssue17
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceFebruaryIssue2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJanuaryIssue2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceDecember2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceNovember2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceOctober2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceSeptember2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJuly2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJune2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceMay2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceLaunchEditionApril2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/Balance2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceNov
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/Balance
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com