SAS Who Dares Wins star Jason Fox has been a rugby fan all his life. He recently sat down with Rugby World to talk about his love of the sport.

Read below all about his adventures as a fan.

Read more: England rugby fixtures

What was the first game you attended?

Cor, that’s going back some years, isn’t it? It will have been an England game at Twickenham many moons ago with my old man. I was probably 13 or 14. It would have been against Wales because my grandad is Welsh. I reckon around 1990, when you had the likes of Will Carling and Rory Underwood.

What’s your memory of being at Twickenham?

I remember it being awesome and it has been the same ever since, which is why I go as often as possible. I went to the New Zealand and South Africa games in the autumn, which was mega. I remember the buzz of it, like a fortress.

Read more: World’s biggest stadiums

The home of English rugby, Twickenham (Getty Images)

Do you have a match-day routine?

Whatever it is, it normally involves a lot of drink. Normally if I’m going with mates who are from outside of London, they will stay at the Premier Inn or the Travelodge around Clapham. I’ll meet them there for a few beers, train from there to Twickenham and a few more beers. To the ground and a few more beers. Actually, I’m a Guinness man but that gets a bit heavy after a while, so I will switch up and move on to cider.

We assume you’ve been to a fair few Army v Navy games?

You would be right, I spent many years going to that game. You speak to people outside of the military and they will have never heard of it. For people in the military, it’s a really big occasion. Everyone descends onto Twickenham from around the country and it’s always a sellout.

It’s carnage but it’s awesome. I was a Marine to begin with, which is the Navy, and then transitioned and kept it real by joining the SBS, the Special Boat Service, which is like the SAS but better. So I always cheered on the Navy but we’ve got smashed a few times. The Army tend to get the ringers in and will play lads from Fiji who are amazing. They were clever in their recruiting and looked far afield to get them in solely for the rugby game.

Read more: All you need to know about 2025 Rugby World Cup

Who was your first hero?

In my teens it was the era of Brian Moore and Will Carling. I get trolled by Carling on social media these days, which is quite the novelty considering I used to watch him when I was growing up. Then the 2003 World Cup happened just after I finished the selection process for the SBS. I remember being in a pub in Poole at 9am watching the final.

It’s weird now meeting people like Carling or Will Greenwood with work. I massively respect them for what they did in their career and I think there is mutual respect back to what I did. I can get starstruck a bit.

Do soldiers make good rugby players and do rugby players make good soldiers?

Yeah, they do. It’s about putting graft in, it’s physical, sacrifice, putting things on the line, it requires dedication and the ability to work in a team to achieve a goal. There are a lot of skilful rugby players who weren’t quite good enough to make the top tier who have since gone into the military. Then I know some military guys who got really good at rugby and then got professional contracts.

I was in the Special Forces with a guy called Greg Barden, who went on to play sevens for England. I’ve done a lot of talks with rugby teams about values.

Read more: Rugby great Jonah Lomu

Are there any rugby players that even you wouldn’t have got in the way of?

Lomu. Easy. It’s such a shame he was so affected by illness in his career. I remember when he came onto the scene and thinking ‘f**k that’. He was a monster and I couldn’t imagine playing against him. He had tree trunks for legs.

All Black Jonah Lomu slips a South African tackle (Getty Images)

Both rugby and the military now allow young people to talk about their feelings…

Yes, it needs to happen because the old-school mentality of not talking hasn’t worked. People are struggling and are taking their own lives in some circumstances. It doesn’t mean you’re not tough, or not good at rugby or not a good soldier if you say you’re struggling.

It’s you trying to prolong your existence within the sport, your career or life itself. It’s a grown-up way of approaching something that we all suffer with in one way or another. Talking and having a space to talk helps that.

Read more: British and Irish Lions squad

What three things would you tell a squadron that you’d also tell a rugby changing room?

First, preparation is key. To learn as much as we can about what we’re doing before we do it. Then it’s picturing yourself at the end, achieving success. Lastly, it’s one step at a time. Don’t think about what’s got to be tackled or what you’ve already done, deal with the now.

If you could put a current or former player through their paces on SAS: Who Dares Wins, who would it be?

Austin Healey because he’s a gobs****. But he’d love it and absolutely smash it. He would be good fun. Of the current (England) squad, Ben Earl is a tough guy. He has an engine too. I’d like to see him on the show. The issue with rugby players on the show is they’re prone to injury. Chris Robshaw had an awesome attitude but his body let him down post rugby.

Ever bumped into a player in a strange place?

Ha, I’ve bumped into David Flatman in a urinal.

Which players would you invite on an Arctic expedition?

Brian O’Driscoll for his great attitude and Keith Wood for morale. That will annoy the English lads.

Download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.