James Haskell to Retire

Love him or hate him James Haskell is a legend of the modern rugby game. As famous off the field as he is on it.

He'll bow out with:
Prem medals
Euro medal
6Ns GS and winners medals
A lions tour
Series white wash in Oz
77 Eng caps
Played in NZ, Fra, Jap and Eng
His Eng career spanned 12 years and he played every year of it, more then any other Eng player of that period.

Sometimes annoying, sometimes funny. He'll no doubt be a success in the future with what ever he does.

His performances in that Oz tour set the tone for the white wash.

He was outstanding...its a shame he couldnt meet those heights consistently.

I like him as a player. As a person, when winding up owen Farrell, he's hillarious. When he's trying to be funny any other time though hes a bit of a tool.

My lasting memory of Haskell will always be his complete bewilderment when spekaing to the ref in that game against Italy.

I like him a lot. I watched the Lions tour dvd again the other night and he is pretty good value on that too. Good cv. I wouldn't be overly surprised to see him in some sort of S&C role, given he has written a few books about it.

My funniest memory of him, will always be him running into the post v Wales though.

Agree RiscaGame -
Running into the post
Sounding Pished in his post match de-brief as a pundit on Sky.
Winding up of Farrell
The Marler water squirt incident

Just some of the classic Hask moments
All that aside, he has done very well.
Groomed for a long time as the LOL successor, and while not the most consistent, when he was on form he definitely filled those boots.

I was sure he and Big Phil would retire at the same time. Who'd a thought that Phil is the one to keep going, at least for another season, it seems.

I loved this interview where he did what alot of us wished we could do

https://youtu.be/j23kMGJZIiE

Also this one on his one true love
https://youtu.be/kv6pnn5S90c

Brendan wrote:I loved this interview where he did what alot of us wished we could do

https://youtu.be/j23kMGJZIiE

Also this one on his one true love
https://youtu.be/kv6pnn5S90c

Seriously, he IS a very good actor. Maybe the new career he might look for.

You can see that he really wanted that 'interview' to work in the right way.... he didn't play it for laughs. He was very good in letting the ticks and anxiety rise and rise in his body language. Shame it was all wasted a little by the interviewer who just either hadn't the acting talent or the will to genuinely make the illusion work.

He is an entertaining character, just don't what ever you do call him "the Brand".

Collapse2005 wrote:He is an entertaining character, just don't what ever you do call him "the Brand".

He'll always be the "Haskell San" to me, from the Dr Claus Cat comments on the Guardian rugby pages from a few years back.

Explain? San is a way to address someone in Japanese no?

I bloody loves Hasks, when he's on the rugby podcasts he's hilarious.
Oh and he's always been a hell of a player too of course but mostly for me, it's the podcasts.

Collapse2005 wrote:Explain? San is a way to address someone in Japanese no?

Dr Claw's Cat was a blogger and commenter on The Guardian

https://www.aodrugby.com/the-haskell-diaries/ask-james-solving-lifes-problems/ask-james-im-being-dominated-by-the-internets/

It's a sort of written in the third person blog, and during his time in Japan he refers to himself as "The Haskell-San"....

Anyone listened to House of Rugby's recent episode with Haskell on? He's pretty open about a lot of stuff, and I was shocked to hear that a number of his contracts were for very little money. Apparently his Highlander's contract was in the region of $20,000/year, whilst he also said that his contract during his second stint at Wasps was less than what he earned when in the academy...!

I guess that's why no one is arsed going to New Zealand. He could get more than that working in Tesco.

bluestonevedder wrote:Anyone listened to House of Rugby's recent episode with Haskell on? He's pretty open about a lot of stuff, and I was shocked to hear that a number of his contracts were for very little money. Apparently his Highlander's contract was in the region of $20,000/year, whilst he also said that his contract during his second stint at Wasps was less than what he earned when in the academy...!

I listened to the whole thing. In a way, I feel a bit sorry for Haskell. He seemed to suggest he only left Wasps for Stade initially, because they were messing him around with a contract. By his own account, no club he played for has ever tried to keep him by improving his deal, so he was almost always negotiating year-to-year. And yet, every club and manager he has played for speaks well of him, and team mates who have heard rumours about him, are genuinely surprised to find they like him.

The financial mess at Stade seemed to unmoor him at little. Haskell talks about how he's never been as confident about his rugby as his brash persona suggests. While he spent a few months in NZ and Japan, he'd already arranged a return to Wasps because he wanted to get back on an even keel. As it turned out Wasps were in the wilderness, so it didn't really help him build his confidence. If he'd joined Saracens instead at that time, his career may have turned out differently (I suppose you can say the same about many players).

It's bittersweet for him to have had the chance to play under Eddie Jones. It's clearly the high point of his career, but also frustrates him that no-one until Jones knew how to get his best at Test level. Still, as he says, exceptional players like Tom Rees didn't make it as far as they should, so he can't really complain.

That was a very good interview and probably echos what happens to a lot of players.

One thing I like about Hask is his ability to articulate points. He gets a lot across smartly and makes topics very interesting.

His biography will be one to get I think.

Also its weird he was under valued so massively by Wasps. Perhapd the Lol effect and him not being able to live up to the big mans standards. He definitely suffered initially in the media as everyone wanted him to be Dalaglio mk2

Definitely one of the top lads in the game despite being a bit of an ass. I’ll miss him. And yes for me his most memorable moment is running into the goal post during another heated Wales vs England fixture.

"I really wanted to stay at Wasps and be available for England but I wanted more money more" hardly puts him in the sympathy bracket.

But yes a player who's come in for some unwarranted stick over the years but fell just short of being a great.

Who doesn't want more money? That makes me like him more.

I suspect he would have been a better player if he wasn't quite so pumped up physically and focussed a bit more on skill. He is good value for a laugh on his pod cast even if its sometimes at him rather than with him its usually because he is entertaining.

I like Haskell actually, I think he comes across as a really genuine guy and is one of the games real characters.

As a player I think he has clearly worked hard and got the most out of his potential, so don't think he should have any regrets.

Collapse2005 wrote:Who doesn't want more money? That makes me like him more.

I suspect he would have been a better player if he wasn't quite so pumped up physically and focussed a bit more on skill. He is good value for a laugh on his pod cast even if its sometimes at him rather than with him its usually because he is entertaining.

I reckon he'd be good value on a night out.

No doubt about it. Joe Marler though seems a real oddball.

Haven't listened to the interview yet, but looking forward to it.

Big fan of Hask, both for his rugby and his "banter". Often humorous, sometimes grating, but rarely off-target. Quality player, probably underachieved, often underrated, IMHO.

Bloke's a bloomin' unit though. I remember enjoying watching him learning MMA some years ago, just because he thought it'd be a bit of a laugh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q73dxlOxZ-Y

Collapse2005 wrote:No doubt about it. Joe Marler though seems a real oddball.

I think Marler overplays his 'quirkiness' in his recent Rugby House interview. Usually I'm a big fan of his as he's so totally unique, but he went on a few tangents that didn't quite work for me.

Come on..... what kinda tangents? You gotta explain these lead-ins not just leave them hanging in a vacuum.

He likes to secretly kill and eat stray dogs ... in the middle of the night, when everyone else is asleep..... in his purpose made dungeon cum abattoir?

Am I close?

Probably not that far off. He does have a meat business on the side I think.

SecretFly wrote:Come on..... what kinda tangents?  You gotta explain these lead-ins not just leave them hanging in a vacuum.

He likes to secretly kill and eat stray dogs ... in the middle of the night, when everyone else is asleep..... in his purpose made dungeon cum abattoir?

Am I close?

Wouldn't be surprised Fly. He did turn up with homemade biltong which had a lot of the team coughing and spluttering so it could well have been stray dog meat...