Collabro’s Richard spills his rugby locker room secrets
If you fancy gawping at Attitude favourites like Harry Judd, Emmerdale’s Kelvin Fletcher, Thom Evans and Collabro hottie Richard Hadfield rolling around in the mud together, then make sure you snap up some tickets for the upcoming Rugby Aid charity match, taking place at Twickenham Stoop Stadium on September 4.
Beefy celebs (and Louie Spence) heave teamed up with rugby pros like Mike Tindall to raise money to help military personnel adjust from military service to civilian life.
We hooked up with Collabro’s Richard Hadfield (pictured below, at left) to talk about the match, the reactions to his naked pics in Attitude and Keegan Hirst’s recent coming out.
How did you get involved?
I actually heard through a friend that this game was going ahead, checked out Rugby Aid’s Twitter page and tweeted about how much I would love to be part and it would be a dream to finally play with some pros. Our fans got behind me by re-tweeting, favouriting and even writing their own tweets to Rugby Aid. Rugby Aid then got in touch soon after and invited me to play for the Rest of the World (my Irish blood came in handy after all).
Who are you looking forward to playing against – are you nervous to be taking on professionals?
Well apart from my England rugby heroes like Mike Tindall and Jason Robinson, I’d have to say I’m most looking forward to playing Louie Spence. Collabro played with him at Soccer Six and whenever a goal was scored he’d backflip into splits. I’d like to see him try that when he’s half way over my shoulder in mid tackle….to be honest he’d probably pull it off! I am a little nervous. Especially as it’s aired live on BT Sport! I could either come across as a decent player in this game or be shown up completely! But ultimately it’s an honour to be sharing the pitch with such rugby greats like Serge Betsen and Shane Williams. Seriously, can’t wait.
You used to be a rugby guy – does this match bring back great memories?
It brings back awesome memories! From boggy match days to naked wresting in the middle of pubs. But what goes on tour, stays on tour. Rugby was actually my first profession. Not that I preferred it to singing and acting but I realised that rugby was a young career and I had a limited time to play the great sport. When I was younger I was part of Harlequins academy and then went on to represent South East at England’s clubs and schools trial.
Why did you rugby career come to an end?
My professional rugby career ended when I found out that I had plantar fasciitis. It’s a form of shin splints and cripples me when I run. One of my worst memories was going out on the pitch in front of England selectors, which should have been one of the proudest days of my life, but the pain was so bad I had to sit down in the middle of the pitch after five minutes of playing the game.
Did that hit you hard?
Yeah, it was tough. I had to really try not to cry that day but on the way home in the car my tears started flooding. It took a while to get over it but sometimes you need to have that time to just mope. A few weeks later I picked myself up, trimmed myself down to fit more roles in the West End and concentrated on becoming a performing artist. And now here we are!
Keegan Hirst came out recently – the first rugby league player to ever come to do so. That’s big news.
I was so proud of him for doing that and was so pleased the reactions were all so positive – as it should be in this day an age. It’s great to see people’s ideas on LGBT people changing right before our eyes in the last few years, especially in the rugby world. I think for the first time at training the other day I heard the coach say, ‘Don’t let your girlfriend or boyfriend get in the way of you making it down to training next week’. And not as a joke. You just wouldn’t have heard that a few years back. It’s fantastic people realise that if you assume everyone is straight it is only suppressing and excluding LGBTs. To be honest, I don’t care whether you’re gay, bi or trans, you’re coming into that ruck with me whether you like it or not!
Your naked pics went down a storm – were you surprised how popular you were ?
Yeah, I’ve received lots of… interesting tweets. I didn’t think they’d be that popular! I guess it’s refreshing for a reader to not see the bulging ripped muscle man and instead have a bit of a meatier bloke kicking about. After all, we all know who the real man is.
Of your band mates, which do you think has the best bod?
Tom, he’s always down the gym. He’s got a great diet and looks after himself. I think he comes under the cub category? But I may be completely wrong!
There are some impressive physiques in the rugby match, like James Haskell – who’s bod would you like? Whose bid impresses you most?
Where do I start? Bigger the better in my eyes. Ben Morgan is huge. Love to have a body like that. He tears it up on the pitch!
Any body parts you’d like to improve?
My hamstrings! I’ve got big quads but the back of my legs don’t grow! They are strong but I want to solve the imbalance. Any tips much appreciated.
Which is the body part you’re most proud of?
It’s between my shoulders and my legs at the moment.
In the post-match bath are rugby players always checking each other out to see who’s got the biggest muscles and man bits – are rugby boys vain?
Man bits? I feel like I’m back at school! In a team you’ve normally got that one guys with the oversized… thingy. The hammer, I think he’s referred to in The Longest Yard. Forget about trying not to look, it’s hard to miss!
Everyone sizes each other up at the beginning of season. Alpha male and all that. I can’t be arsed with it. Throw me a ball and a bloke to run at and come see what I can do on the pitch, I’m not bothered how nice your biceps look.
info: England Vs Rest Of The world match, September 4 – buy tickets here.