I'd always thought Australia was a rugby country, but football is really developing here, and Juve are extremely popular.
I was shocked by the amount of Welsh people in L.A. We'd go to this British pub to watch the 'Six Nations' early in the morning and I remember the first time I walked in it was just a sea of red.
When I left rugby and bought my first commercial gym membership it was a shock to the system. I went in there and saw people training and thought 'I've got to get out of here and get in a proper gym.'
I grew up among heroes who went down the pit, who played rugby, told stories, sang songs of war.
There was no way I was going to end up in the scrum when I came to rugby - you know, waste my pretty looks.
Statistically, there have to be more gay men in rugby than we know about and I would hate for them to be going home from training and feeling depressed or feeling like they need to live a lie.
I'm from Samoan heritage, and with the rugby in our blood and everything, I always felt I've been tough, and that my tolerance for pain is pretty high.
I come from a country that lives and breathes rugby, and I didn't think there would be anywhere else in the world that could be the same. But New Zealand takes it to another dimension. It's extraordinary how much passion Kiwis have for the game.
I'm always embarrassed by those rugby player autobiographies which get written by journalists.
We are a rugby family really. My dad and both granddads played rugby. Dad was good, on his way to Bath until he broke his leg. My brother Harry got an invitation to go and play for Bristol. I go and watch Sale Sharks and have been to Twickenham a few times.
In rugby I think it is good to have a bit of a persona, a bit of a character because we are one of the last things that isn't necessarily controlled.
Rugby is a hooligans game played by gentlemen.
Just like in rugby, the pinnacle was playing for the All Blacks. That was always a massive thing. But you never speak it outwardly because it can sound stupid. But if you don't have massive dreams, you might as well stay in bed.
I had seen the ethos of rugby, and I was very much an admirer. For us, it's a beautiful sport, what I guess what Pele called soccer in Brazil. It's so simple; it's easy to understand. You can play five on five or 15 on 15.
Coming from Australia and playing rugby, you just think that soccer is a bit soft, but I'll tell you what - it's not. It's rough as guts. It's great.
I passed the 11-plus, but it was decided that I should take the Common Entrance exam to Monmouth School, the nearest independent. I was never entirely comfortable there, as they didn't have girls, and they played rugby instead of football.
Bowen is a Welsh name and the family background is more rugby than football, but we're English through and through.
I just always play in a South African speedo when I play for the Springboks.
It really gets my back up when people start using business phrases - 'sustainability,' 'the brand,' etc. - about rugby.
If anyone out there is mildly curious about rugby, I'd recommend a weekend spent watching the Six Nations. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
I would have thought there's no greater country to watch rugby than New Zealand.
