Top 100 Quotes & Sayings by James Haskell

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

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.

When I left rugby and bought my first commercial gym membership it was a shock to the system. I went in there and saw people training and thought 'I've got to get out of here and get in a proper gym.'

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.

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.

I like my boxing and jiu jitsu and that kind of stuff and one thing I always enjoyed from an early age was shooting. My godfather got me into it. It started with airguns and shotguns and that kind of stuff.

I'm obsessed by coffee.

It must be very daunting being an individual sportsman.

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.

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

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

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

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

People talk a lot about the Welsh fans but English supporters are also among the world's best.

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

I've got a 20 inch neck, a narrow waist and big bulging thighs so stuff off the rack doesn't fit. It's a nightmare to shop for shirts and trousers that are going to fit, because they'll be tight in one place and all baggy everywhere else.

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

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

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

Statistically, there have to be more gay men in rugby than we know about and I would hate for them to be going home from training and feeling depressed or feeling like they need to live a lie.

I can't have cinema popcorn because it's all full of sugar, unfortunately. Well, I do have it and I don't have it. I love movie night and there's lots of healthy brands of popcorn nowadays, so it's good as a snack.

Fulfilling your ultimate childhood wish is a surreal experience.

There's no doubt that 'the plank' is one of the best core exercises on the planet.

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

The first step to optimising testosterone is eating right. That means cutting out the processed junk food and focusing on high quality proteins, carbs, fats, and an abundance of fruits and vegetables. Don't fall into the 'low fat' eating trap, as this will seriously inhibit your testosterone production.

Front squats and trap bar deadlifts are the two best big compound movements for quad growth.

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.

Someone once told me I looked like Mr Incredible out of 'The Incredibles.'

There's only one Lawrence Dallaglio and there's only one James Haskell.

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

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

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.

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

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.

As a rugby player I got into the habit of tackling without thinking. But in MMA you've got to land the right way. You can't flop. You've got to bounce back to your feet. You've got to use your sprawl.

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

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

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

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.

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.

Actions always speak louder than pre-match words.

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

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

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.

Unfortunately, there tends to be an easy way of doing things in life and the Haskell way. As a 12-year-old I knocked my front teeth out while chasing a friend in the rain. I'm the type who offers to serve wine at drinks parties and accidentally pours it down one of the guests.

I've been written off more times than some of the government's tax returns but I just keep plodding along.

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.

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

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.

I love deejaying and got the opportunity to do a music production course online and loved it, but I am about as musically talented as a house brick.

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.

We're removal men. It's hard labour. I've come to the conclusion being a forward is probably the worst thing in rugby. Looking at backs, they play kick and laugh, run and clap and we get absolutely flogged.

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'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.

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

If you want bigger arms, target the triceps, not the biceps.

It is difficult for people across the world to be comfortable with their sexuality. We need more education and awareness.

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.

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.

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.