Tom Shanklin is a former Wales, British & Irish Lion and Cardiff Blues centre who has since turned to a career in punditry since retiring.

Rugby World caught up with “Shanks” ahead of the new season to talk about his incredible life in rugby…

What was the first game you attended?

I can’t remember the year, but my dad took me to a Six Nations game at Twickenham. It was that long ago that he had tickets for two seats, but we were with his mate, so they had to pass the ticket back through the fence and I sat between his legs to watch the game. I was about seven years old.

Did you fall in love with rugby that day?

My real love of rugby happened because of the 1997 British & Irish Lions tour. I was 16 or 17 and rugby was my sport, my hobby, I was playing county and that era made me fall in love.

It wasn’t just the tour but Living With Lions, the best sports documentary of all time. It was real, raw footage of players with no media training. I gravitated to Scott Gibbs and John Bentley. I watched it and thought I want that. Nothing compares to it because rugby has moved on.

Do you have a match-day routine post career?

I always write the teams out in my own notepad despite getting the teamsheets from the ground. That was something I developed during the Covid epidemic.

Then the biggest thing for me is making a little packed lunch. You turn up at these stadiums and you’re there for a long time. It can be a nightmare if there’s no food. My packed lunch is nothing like Sam Warburton’s high-protein one.

I’ll have a Coke Zero, some sweets, jelly babies as they can be eaten quickly, even during the game. You can’t eat a Fruit Pastille or a Rolo fast. Then I’ll have a cream cheese bagel with Parma ham and sweet chilli sauce. Bringing sweets makes you liked too.

Do you remember your first rugby hero?

Tough one. I loved Scott Gibbs, Scott Quinnell, legends in my eyes, but Jonah Lomu was my first hero. I remember playing his game on the PlayStation, the first rugby game.

I was at university, and we would have competitions on the console against each other. I crossed over with him at Cardiff and went to his house for dinner. We had the whole town turn up when he played for us.

Jonah Rush of Cardiff is tackled by Ludovico Nitoglia during the Heineken Cup match between Cardiff Blues and Calvisano (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Best place visited with rugby?

The 2003 World Cup in Australia was the best experience ever. Wales had a young team and there wasn’t too much pressure on us.

The beauty of it was being there for six weeks with loads of stuff to do. We stayed in apartments in Canberra where we could cook for ourselves with a food allowance. Being young, I had beans on toast four times a day – you could make £75 a day!

I got stitched up on roomies; I was drawn with Brent Cockbain, who was renowned for nakedness. He was a really good cook though, so it turned out okay. As a country it was also where we reset ourselves and progressed towards 2005 (a Grand Slam).

Strangest thing you saw on the pitch?

Jamie Roberts fracturing his skull in a game and playing another ten minutes. Said he could taste cerebral fluid in the back of his throat.

Read more: “I was halfway through a beer and meat pie. Next thing I know I’m making my Australia debut.”: Wallabies legend Adam Ashley-Cooper on his unexpected debut, 100 test caps and World Cup hat-tricks.

He’s a big bloke with a massive head, so I wasn’t sure what to do. I told him to go off.

The strangest thing I saw off the field was Mark Jones, the now-Ospreys coach, pick a sheep up with ease. At the 2007 World Cup, we were in Nantes and there were sheep everywhere.

He picked this sheep up and got it in Dwayne Peel’s room in seconds. You need proper knowledge for how to do that! It will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Who was the most interesting team-mate you had?

Gavin Henson. He got a bad rep but he is such a lovely bloke. Strange pre-match routine, he wanted to look good. If he looked good, he played good.

Gavin Henson of Wales is congratulated by teammates after scoring a try
©INPHO/Getty Images

A lot of fake tan, a lot of hair gel, a lot of shaving but that was his thing. He was the first real poster boy of Welsh rugby. He was one of the first to pioneer the way for current players.

His nan would sew an extra inch into his shorts, and he didn’t like his wrists, so he would have a compression top sewn into the shirt too.

Read more: How to watch the British & Irish Lions

Which was the best club you visited for post-match?

I really liked going to Stade de France. It was a different level of stadium. There was space, hot tubs, massive baths, post-match food like pizza and burritos.

It was epic. It’s all symmetrical too and you have the theatre of the French fans. As a fan, it’s tough to get in and out of, though.

What was the best shirt you got in your career?

Brian O’Driscoll’s shirt from 2005 when we beat them in the Grand Slam decider in Cardiff.

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I swapped shirts with him because it’s Brian O’Driscoll; even though we’d won the Grand Slam, I needed to swap it. The best part of it was that he walked around the ground in a Wales shirt.

Your favourite current player?

Antoine Dupont plays the game in slow motion, what can he not do? I’m in awe watching the guy. He is constantly involved and making brilliant decisions.

George North of Wales walks down the players tunnel at half-time during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between Wales and Australia (Photo by Adam Pretty – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

Which current player do you think could be a pundit?

It’s awkward because you don’t want them to be too good and to nick your job. Sometimes the best players don’t make the best pundits because the game came so naturally to them.

Of the current crop, Dan Biggar will walk in with ease. He sees the game differently as a fly-half. George North has done it all on the pitch and could transition well.

Joe Marler could be the new Ryan Wilson – there’s no script!

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