James Haskell Quotes

If there is no blood on the line, it is not rugby league.

The Championship is a ferocious league, physically demanding, and it simply does not allow players the luxury of cruising through.

I don't go flying into tackles and running around 100 mph. That's just not me.

When a defender comes up to tackle me, I want him to feel that ground.

It actually took me a year to learn how to play running back - to understand what they were doing defensively and then what our guys were doing every single play.

If I'm going to get hit, why let the guy who's going to hit me get the easiest and best shot? I explode into the guy who's trying to tackle me.

For decathletes, our event goes all throughout the day so you're trying to go up and down and up and down emotionally and physically and you know mentally you're just on a roller coaster.

Track and field is tougher physically, but golf is tougher mentally.

You have to be physical. If you are not, defensive backs will try to pick on you.

I have always been small, so defenders have always been taller and tougher than me. So that's difficult for me; they foul me sometimes, but there you are - that's what the rules of the game are for.

When someone like Lukaku gets you in the position where he's holding you off it is key to try and nick it in front of him.

Nobody likes it when people dribble past them, me included, but I can't tackle.

Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso was always bemused by our enthusiasm for tackling, because he saw it as the last resort.

I'd love to feature for the Barbarians. I'd love to win a Champions Cup, and I'd love to get to another World Cup and make a fist of it: get to a World Cup final at least and see what could have been, particularly after 2011 when Wales reached the semi-finals.

You have to understand, it takes a lot of qualities to play linebacker - quickness, tackling ability and sheer force - so you just can't take someone from another position and think they could all of a sudden handle that role.

There is always a pressure if you play every game and especially when you are representing your country.

English football is very physical, much more so than Spanish football - I felt it in the first match.

It was a bit of a shock playing against Millwall. I knew the reputation of English football was tough, but my first thoughts when we started were, 'Wow, this is different to Denmark.' They kicked a little more and made crazy tackles, but I wasn't injured when I returned to Denmark, so I guess I did OK.

In eighth grade, I was actually better in football. I played running back, wide receiver, and safety - just like Allen Iverson.

English football is different, especially for a goalkeeper. It's more aggressive, more physical. It's far, far harder. The ball is in the air more, and you get pushed about. And the referees don't blow anything!

In Spain, the game is more technical; in England, it's more physical, while in Italy, it's more tactical. Each country is a challenge, and I like to put myself to the test.

As a player, I loved being tackled, whether it was in training or in a game. I took a full-blooded challenge as an invitation to do exactly the same thing to an opponent. I would wait for my opportunity and nine times out of 10, I would get him back.

You realise you have to be physically strong when you come to the Premier League because it is a very intensive league.

I have played the World Cup qualifiers on the left wing, and that position suits me fine.

Me, personally, I'm going to be out there running full speed and chasing down running backs and chasing down quarterbacks. That's what I do best.