You just shouldn't be spending your summer watching TV.

I want to do presenting, I love DJing, I love writing but none of it's a guaranteed job so it's still very scary.

A lot of sportsmen get depression, all sorts of mental health issues. A lot of people retire and you don't hear from them, but I don't want to do that.

My best games for England were under Eddie Jones. Eddie got the best out of me. He understood that I needed an arm around me, needed my tyres pumped up.

I was always on to the next thing. I didn't celebrate all the little moments in my career that I should have done, I always focused on what was next, how could I do better.

I've learned that, bizarrely, I enjoy having a fight. Obviously nobody likes getting hit, but I don't have a problem with it. In MMA you've got to take a few hits to reach the right position.

People think of rugby players as being tough but it's another thing to stand in front of someone and get kicked, punched, taken down. In rugby you have two contact sessions a week and you play a game on the weekend.

I'm a white middle-class public schoolboy so I'm not particularly tough. But it turns out I don't mind going in the cage. I can dig in. And it's interesting watching people spar and train. There's no anger. It's all technique and delivered with venom.

I was consuming the most food when I came to Wasps. I was eating six meals a day - 250-300g of protein, 300g of carbs, 250g of veg, six times every day. It was extensive, horrific. And tedious.

My first memory is being taken for Indian food at the Cookham Tandoori on the High Street - I remember the poppadoms, the onions, the chicken tikka.

I don't want to become a player who spends half his time running round after the breakdown, because that won't get the best out of me.

Wherever I've played, I only affect the breakdowns that are in front of me.

I've always been confident in my rugby ability but with England I had to adjust my behaviour.

People make very many comments in life when they don't have the background or the knowledge.

I've played with some of the best players in the world, and I've loved every minute of it.

I wanted to play Super 15. I wanted to develop some maturity, some leadership and to work on my skill set. Also I want to have played all round the world.

I love Twickenham. It's the best place on earth to go, even when it's empty.

It's important as a team that you don't get too excited with a win and you don't get too disappointed with a loss. You have to stay very steady, very focused on that middle ground.

You bring your strength to the game - that's what I've learnt, and that's what I try to bring to England.

To get any win, especially against a Welsh side, is very satisfying.

If you have any ambitions to improve and be a world-class side, you have to be very tough on yourselves.

If you've got aspirations to be tested to the absolute maximum you want to be in the starting line-up.

When you have two-thirds of possession in any match you have got to turn that pressure into points.

If no one ever made a mistake we'd never get anywhere. One side would keep the ball until half-time and the other team would do the same for the whole of the second half.

I hate losing and I think it's good to feel a stab of anger if it happens.

Rugby is a sport in which you can lose heavily one week and still come back and smash the opposition the next.

Some people think of players and supporters as 'them' and 'us.' The truth is that we do what we do because we are all fans at heart.

I reckon every player feels much the same on the eve of a Six Nations championship. We all want to finish top, win the title and do our respective countries proud in the process. We're also aware a lot of other people are seeking precisely the same thing. Pessimism and optimism collide like two ferrets in a sack.

If anyone out there is mildly curious about rugby, I'd recommend a weekend spent watching the Six Nations. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

If your form dips as a back-row forward, it is best to address the areas you know you're going to be heavily involved in.

There is nowhere to hide as an international back-row forward.

At most grounds you're not particularly conscious of the crowd but in Cardiff, with the roof closed against a good Welsh team, the noise is impossible to ignore. It can be loud enough to put you off your game and the Welsh undoubtedly possess some of the most passionate fans in the world.

Actions always speak louder than pre-match words.

In my limited experience, you have to make your own decisions in life and experience things for yourself.

Going to Stade Francais will not just make me a better player but make me a better player for England.

My favourite Heineken Cup memory as a player was undoubtedly sharing in Wasps' final triumph in 2007.

To be the best in the Heineken Cup or the Top 14 you've got to win home and away.

Trust me, Stade is not a comfortable place to be if you're losing, regardless of the venue.

Fulfilling your ultimate childhood wish is a surreal experience.

It's one thing to get beaten by a side who are a lot better than you, it's quite another to know you've thrown victory away in a game you should have won.

It doesn't matter if you've got the best team in the world, you can't play rugby on your own try-line.

I do not want to gain a reputation for lacking discipline because I always look to play within the laws.

All players want nice things to be said and written about them and you have to take the reverse in equal measure.

International rugby is an unforgiving arena.

As a schoolboy I can recall playing three games a week and not even feeling it.

As a player you have to look after your body because no one else will. I'd rather be proactive than kowtow to everyone and be injured all the time.

Matches aren't won on the training field and there is no point flogging experienced campaigners unnecessarily.

To stay at the elite end of professional sport you need to show an awful lot of dedication.

I've lost count of the times I've been asked what I do for a living. When I say rugby people say: 'Yes, but what's your other job?'

I think as a professional sportsman you're aware that your time is limited.