‘Anger is not a massive driver’: England’s Will Stuart on finding a middle ground for rugby success

Prop’s endearing and quirky world cumulated into his best form which he hopes to channel at derby against Bristol Some players are comfortable blowing their own trumpet. Not Will Stuart, even after a memorable year lifting multiple trophies with the British & Irish Lions and Bath. Ask the self-effacing prop whether he might have earned himself a few more media and commercial opportunities and he genuinely looks horrified. “It’s not really for me,” he murmurs. “I struggle with it in general. Maybe it’s a mental block.” Welcome to the endearingly quirky world of England’s most left-field squad member. Did you know that Stuart’s paternal grandfather – also the son of the Bishop of Uganda – used to play No 8 in the same rugby team as Idi Amin, who featured as a lock? Or that his maternal great-grandfather was shot down in 1918 by the Red Baron before going on to act in, among other films, the Lavender Hill Mob?