A new podcast, Eddie Jones’ book and what I’d like to achieve once lock-down is over

Hello everyone! How are you all? I’ll be honest and say I’ve not found the last couple of weeks the easiest. I’ve not felt very motivated at all! As you all know, I’ve been participating in the Joe Wicks workouts since lock-down began. However, the last couple of days I’ve not been able to take part because my Arthritis has been flaring up and I’ve been in too much pain to exercise. This has upset me as exercise makes me happy and feel good mentally! I know I must listen to my body though so have taken a couple of days to rest and used the time to do other activities that interest me. Enjoy the read…

Two new podcasts
As you’re all aware, you know I love a good rugby podcast and I was thrilled to have come across two new ones this week! I thoroughly enjoyed both podcasts. They’re called The Rugby Pod and The Eddie Jones Coaching Podcast. I found both on Spotify. The Rugby Pod is hosted by Andy Rowe and ex professional rugby players, Andy Goode and Jim Hamilton. The guys chat through everything from tour stories to what really goes on behind the scenes in the World of Rugby. They also cover all the latest news, but with plenty of laughs, opinions and without taking themselves too seriously. On this week’s pod, they chatted to ex Fijian and soon to be Leicester Tigers player, Nemani Nadolo. Nemani spoke about his excitement to join the team and the way in which he was offered the Leicester contract. He also chatted to Andy and Jim about what he thinks he’ll bring to the team and why he decided to retire from international rugby last year. I recommend you have a listen to this if you fancy a laugh but also an honest and joyous interview. The second podcast is called The Eddie Jones Coaching Podcast. It includes England Head Coach Eddie Jones and RFU director of performance Conor O’Shea. They chat about specific topics, with the first podcast I listened to being about team talks, including pre-match, half-time and post-match. Eddie and Conor have over 50 years of coaching experience at the highest level so it was fascinating listening to the different ways in which they both coach and the skills they’ve learnt off other people as they’ve both grown into their roles. I still have the next episode to listen to and am looking forward to listening to it over the weekend. Do check it out if you fancy a more formal but interesting pod to listen to.

Reading
If you read my ‘Keeping Busy’ blog that I uploaded last month, you’ll know that I’ve been reading Eddie Jones My Life and Rugby in lock-down. I’m just over half way through now and am still just as enthusiastic when I open it as I was when I first began reading it. I’m on Chapter 12 at the moment which is called Life Changing Moments. Little did I know until I began reading this chapter that Eddie suffered a stroke in 2013. This chapter reflects on how he overcame the stroke and the challenge he faced by having to learn to walk again. It’s a very powerful moment in the book and I was interested to read how his mindset changed since having that stroke. Do check out the book if you’re struggling to find a good autobiography to read. It’s full of emotion.

What I’d like to achieve once lock-down is over 

Whilst in lock-down, I have been doing some reflecting and I decided to make a list of things I’d like to achieve when lock-down has been lifted. They are a mixture of short and long term goals but I like to challenge myself and give myself something to work towards. Take out of it what you wish but my goals are to:

• Pick up my Clarinet again and teach myself some new music to play – Music is a huge passion of mine and I used to be part of an orchestra. I had music lessons at Primary and Secondary school but gave up. I lacked confidence in my ability. I would love to get back into it when lock-down is over and get hold of it again.
• Pass my driving test! – Again, I have lacked a lot of confidence in my ability but am looking forward to having lessons again with a new instructor. Practice makes perfect and I’m excited for the challenge…
• Write a book – I’m going to try and rough out some ideas during lock-down and may actually start writing it but this is a long term goal I’d like to achieve. I’ve been encouraged to do this by a few people. I won’t give too much away but it’ll definitely be about rugby.
• Become a children’s rugby coach – I’d quite like to take a coaching qualification and in my spare time, teach children how to play rugby. I have had some experience coaching and loved it. Now my condition is manageable, I’d like to give it a go and see where it takes me. Talking of qualifications, I need to undertake my Level 3 qualification at work and become a Nursery Nurse so that’s another qualification I’d like to complete! 

So there you have it, another blog about what’s been keeping me busy. Sorry it’s not got much rugby content in it but I’ve tried my best to make the best out of a bad situation. What would you like to achieve once lock-down is over? Do let me know. Thanks for reading and continue to stay safe. Love Elizabeth x