One of the first things that people associate with rugby is the physical dimension. Of course there's much more to it than that, which is why the strongest, fastest, fittest players are never the best.

But the physical side is possibly the one that is easiest to influence and improve. Why let someone take the ball off you because they've been spending time on their strength work while you were down the pub with your mates?

And for me, training and crucially the nutrition side as well are more than just a chore. If you take them seriously and can see yourself progressing, they can actually be quite enjoyable.

I know many other people, who may or may not be rugby players, take an interest in this aspect because I get plenty of questions on my website and Twitter about my routines. So with this in mind,  I thought the best way to answer these questions was to create a light hearted blog that gives you some useful  hints, tips, and recipe ideas as well as some training programmes to follow.

I'll try to cover a bit of everything, as I know you all have different needs. It's designed to be a place you can dip in and out of to add to your current programs. You might also get a bit of some banter, a few of my daily observations, and my regular comings and goings.

Of course if it's mostly the rugby you want you can still find it here on MSN where I'll continue writing regularly about the Highlanders, England and the oval ball in general. But hopefully the new blog will give me space to be a little different.

Ill try and update things as and when they come up. I'll also create a email you can subscribe to, which will keep you fully up to date.

http://jhfitness-nut​riton.blogspot.co.nz​/

It's always an amazing honour to be asked to join the England squad, especially when the quality of competition is so high.

Guys like Chris Robshaw and Ben Morgan to name a few have set the backrow benchmarks in that white shirt.

The squad is in a great place and, under Stuart Lancaster and Graham Rowntree, it has returned to a level where players are desperate to be involved and fans are proud to shout support.

I want to fit into that environment, essentially as a 'new boy', and earn the right to play a part.

Taking the risk of ruling yourself out of contention  for England is always a difficult pill to swallow, but my experiences in the last year, in Japan and now in New Zealand have been second to none. I have developed as a player, both on and off the field.

This said, however excited I was about England's performances in the Six Nations from a fan's point of view, it didn't make up for that little bit fear that I may never put that white shirt on again and represent my country.

For all that my critics say, the reason I play rugby is to play for my country.

On The Scrum. Well not so much the scrum, but the front row.

From what I can see it’s a dark, dark place that no one in their right mind would ever want to visit. It’s a space occupied by big men, with thick necks who operate in a game within in a game.

Referees say they know what’s going on and pretend to ref it, but in that dark enclave terrible and mysterious things happen . I have learnt very quickly never to suggest that a scrum is just about a bloke pushing really hard against another bloke. Props and scrum coaches don’t react well to that simplification, and would have you watching hours of footage of different scrums to prove the point.  Or under take a new unique approach that Kees Meeuws the Highlanders' scrum coach has adopted.  More about that later...

The scrum in the modern game is becoming more and more of a match decider.  Not only do dominant teams get front foot ball, but also often the favour of the referee's whistle.  (And if you can't utilise that good front foot ball then you are stuffed anyway.)

There is nothing worse than defending all the time, forcing the opposition into a mistake and then getting smashed at the scum or, worse, penalised. All you have to do is watch the Heineken Cup  and Super 15 to see how important this area is. Internationally teams like England have had great success in the scrum, which when other areas haven’t fired, has allowed them nevertheless a form of dominance over the opposition and kept them in the game.

It’s that time of the season and rugby calendar, where all the grueling work is coming to a head. You have one leg in your swimming shorts and a small dab of sun cream pre-spread on your nose, already for the final whistle. Soon you can finally jet of to a destination that doesn’t require boots and a gum shield. I am of course talking about the end of the season…

The over eager desire to go on holiday applies to the majority of teams who are facing the last game of the season with nothing to play for (other than pride and the adage that the end of team social is always far better when you get a win last game).  

The top 14 in France is all done bar the finals, the Premiership is drawing to a close this weekend. For the minority though, the business end of the season is only just beginning.

It’s odd to think that you have two months of pre-season and 22 rounds of games just to earn the right to get into the play-offs. Then of course like the looming figure of death, you can be leading the table the whole season and fall at the final hurdle and not even get past the semis.

In the words of that vile ginger women “you leave with nothing”. There is no truer turn of phrase than that over used cliché “nobody remembers second and third place”. Only to win is to have succeeded. Dreams at seasons end are often scattered like the explosion of fireworks in the night sky. It’s harsh but true.

There are the same old faces up at the top of the table this year, with one exception – Harlequins. Quins have built season after season and find themselves in the lofty position of first with all to play for. They have had a great season, and so many of them in the England squad highlights this.

It wasn’t long ago, however, that such heights would have given the mighty Quins (as some of their players have fondly named themselves) nosebleeds from the sheer altitude.

The recent result against Leicester highlighted their vulnerability and showed they are very beatable on the day. Will their lack of experience in the final stages of this tournament be there undoing, or will the formidable Robshaw and co. hush the doubters?

Leicester are always around when it comes to the final stages of the season, a great team and club who will want that title back.

Northampton who narrowly missed out on Heineken Cup glory last season need to win away at Worcester to cement their fourth place, and the chance to get the silverware that has thus far eluded them. I have a lot of respect for the way Northampton play and approach the game, they have just recently been unable to finish things off.  

They are in fourth, but if Exeter, who are a point behind them, can beat Sarries then they will sneak in ahead, proving they are a force in this Aviva Premiership.

Of course, at the other end of the spectrum teams are not fighting for glory, but fighting for their livelihoods.

At the bottom of the table you find Newcastle and London Wasps. Wasps whose season has seen more ups and downs than Courtney Love’s underwear sit just a head of Newcastle. Besieged with injury, player retirement and ownership woes, Wasps will want to beat Newcastle and breathe a sigh of relief. 

Tom Varndel’s herculean effort in stopping Bath’s too soon celebrating Sam Vesty, may have given them the lifeline to fight another day. If they get the points, then this tackle will go down in the Wasps annals for all time.

Newcastle will need to win by 24 points to stay up. If any team can achieve this, Newcastle can. It may go against there form this season, but things change when it comes down to relegation battles, just as it does in the play-offs at the other end. This is a match I will be watching very closely, from my armchair in New Zealand.

I keep being tweeted the following: “Where are you in the world?” and “How is Japan?” 

So it feels like it's time for a little up-date from Dunedin In New Zealand, my current home.

I have been here about two months, or to measure it in game-time, as I do, seven matchdays. I'm thinking of inventing a special Haskell-watch that counts down until my next game as that's really more important to me than knowing what day or week it is.

From Tokyo airport to my current position - sitting in a café in Queenstown - it’s been pretty much an unmitigated amazing experience.

The rugby has been different to my expectations. It's not as fast and hectic as in Japan, but is pacy, skillful and, on occasion, physically on par with the Top 14 and Premiership.

Playing the Stormers was the toughest challenge - they are direct like you would find in the Premiership.

I was distressed to receive an email a couple of weeks ago to tell me that my old team mate and long time friend, Tom Rees had retired due to injury. Obviously this is sad news wherever and whenever you here it, but none more so, as one of my big reasons for returning to London Wasps was to unite with Tom “the robot” Rees again in the back row.

From the very first time I decided to take rugby seriously Reesy has always been there with me, whether he knew it or not. I was 15, skinny and completely naïve to the world when I reached the final trials for England under 16. I had come up through the southwest, but due to a shortage of players ended up playing for the midlands.

Our first game was against London south West, which contained a powerful back row of London Irish player Richard Thorpe and Tom Rees. Needless to say the game was a standard Castlecroft affair, dense fog, snow and freezing rain.

Rugby was certainly not the winner on the day, but instead London southwest. Post-match I realized that I had a long way to go to reach the levels required and that my competition, Tom Rees was a special player. From this point onwards I looked up and respected Reesy, he was the player I wanted to be like. He was always ear-marked for great things and talked about in such high regard. I am not sure if I even registered on his radar, but our paths were to cross many times.

When we finally united in the Wasps academy, a while ago now, we had become friends. All be it approaching life in different ways. Reesy was always far quieter, instantly respected and interested in video games and had a near clinical addiction to Haribo sweets.

I was, and some would say still am, loud, brash, confident and keen to be in the mix straight away. It was during this time the nickname Tom “robot” Rees came about. After a particularity early academy weight session, a few boys and myself were enjoying a breakfast, when I decided to tell them that Tom and his father had entered the TV series robot wars.

I suggested they had spent months building the “wreckatron” in their home garage and absolutely loved it; they had special names for their team, and even uniforms. However I went on to say Reesy didn’t like talking about it for obvious reasons so might deny it, but I was telling the truth.

Well this was like lighting the blue touch paper, on our return to training, Reesy was instantly lambasted for being a robotnause and nick-named the “robot.” He didn’t help himself when he denied the story, saying that he actually enjoyed snooker instead. I just sat back and laughed till I cried. I am not sure he has ever forgiven me.

Of all the team-mates I've come across in my career, I have never spent more time with anyone than Tom Rees, much of it on a deserted training field after everyone else had left.

I had hoped to start back up with him on my return, but it wasn’t meant to be. Reesy has had more injuries than a player deserves, each time though, he took it in his stride and fought to come back stronger.

Throughout this period of injuries and short periods of fitness he always showcased the talents that set him aside from other players.

Whether it was his brace of tries against Leicester that earned him an England call-up or his man of the match performance against France in the 6 Nations. Tom Rees was a quality player who deserved to have 50 caps by his name. Whether I was bantering with him or not, I always respected him and saw the competition we shared as a chance to make each other better.

I have many more stories and tales about the “robot” but I’ll save them for another day. Wasps and England have lost a great player and leader. It won't be the same when I return to the black and gold, without Tom’s presence there. Whatever he goes on to do, which at the moment it looks like his medicine, he will be very successful. If you ever want to learn a lesson, it’s to play each game as if it’s your last and maximize every opportunity. For me Reesy did that.

Congratulations Wales on winning the Grand Slam and showing some great form and consistency.

They got there thanks to a tremendous amount of talent, but also though harnessing that talent better than other sides in the tournament, particularly France.

I am very familiar with the techniques of Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards, who coached me at London Wasps for five formative years. They are both unique in their approaches to coaching and the atmosphere they create. And their ideas unquestionably breed results, which there's no arguing with. There are many ways to play rugby and I am not saying their way is the right or wrong way, but it’s a great way of getting the best out of players.

Warren Gatland would always start from the ground up getting the right guys around in him in all the important areas, like conditioning, medical, attack and defence. He has created a great structure in Wales and you can see the players love being part of it. He did the same thing at Wasps when he first took over: bigger, fitter more aggressive was always the mentality. "Work hard; play hard" was his attitude and that applies both on and off the field. The players put in their all on-field and in training, but also enjoy their down time. Players can be individuals, can enjoy a win and have a beer as long as they front-up when it matters.