Former England rugby captain Matt Dawson is probably best known for his brilliant exploits in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, but then he is also a team captain on the BBC’s Question of Sport, a Radio 5 Live commentator, Strictly Come Dancing contestant and Celebrity MasterChef winner. There was certainly a lot we wanted to ask the man who seems to have it all.
His current pursuit involves healthy eating - Dawson works for Sodexo as a health and wellbeing ambassador and is the face of the ‘Be part of it’ campaign, part of their Healthwise philosophy.
“Healthwise has been going for nearly 30 years now,” he begins. “It seeks to improve awareness as to how to monitor your health and wellbeing through nutrition, physical exercise and mental state of mind. We promote good health through gym initiatives and recipe designs that go out across the world.”
Being a professional athlete, nutrition has always been an important aspect of Dawson’s life. He admits now that good diet in sport is more important and more advanced than ever before. However it was an interest in cooking that inspired him to accept an offer to appear on MasterChef in 2006.
“I have always enjoyed cooking. My standard fare was… limited. But I was pretty good at it and would learn the odd bit here and there. When I went on MasterChef I learnt lots about flavour and how to use it in my cooking.”
So that provokes the obvious next question – what’s Matt’s favourite meal?
“I do a nice Spanish chorizo stew, and now and again a Sunday roast – a roast chicken. Well you’ve got to, haven’t you?” he laughs.
Matt’s approach to healthy eating is refreshingly old-fashioned and simple - no crash diets, no fads, just a good attitude towards fresh food, and making your diet as balanced as possible.
“Often it’s not your main meals that are the concern, it’s what you eat in between and making sure that the right foods are available, not only at home but at work too. That’s a place where people tend to put on their calories. People shouldn’t be scared of snacking in between meals though, it’s just what they’re eating. If you’re eating high sugars, fats and salts, then your metabolism will peak and trough and your energy levels will fluctuate from high to low as well.
“I think that good, balanced eating comes with the education that you get at home growing up, and then that provokes the ability to be open-minded, flexible, and experimental in the food that you eat.”
Crossing subjects like one of his trademark sniping runs from back in his rugby days, we got Dawson’s opinion on a few rugby matters as well. The 2014 Six Nations is entertainingly open this year, but does the former England captain believe the current squad is up to scratch?
“They’re certainly making strides forward. I don’t think Stuart Lancaster could really be in a better position from where he started a couple of years ago. They’ve got good strength and depth in most positions. Maybe there’s a bit of work to be done in the midfield, potentially. But all in all, they look like a very strong side.
“At the moment, no team will want to come to Twickenham, the way that England bounce back from being behind. They beat the All Blacks at Twickenham, and they’ve now beaten a very, very good Irish side with a lot of experience. You only have to listen to the crowd to realise there is a real buzz around the game at the moment, and the lads will be so confident on the back of it.
“Look too at some of the lads coming through, and they’re mixing it up with the old guard – the combination is great. Danny Care is leading the charge and doing very well for the England side. Then there’s Mike Brown as well. At the moment if you were to pick a world 15, those two would definitely be in it. That’s a great start because come World Cup time, notoriously, the winning side will have six or seven truly world class players in it. England are getting very close to that.”
Matt Dawson is an ambassador for Sodexo. For more information go to www.uk.sodexo.com.
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