Interview with Martin Bayfield ahead of Leicester show ‘Rugby Legends’.

Martin Bayfield

Former England international and true giant of rugby, Martin Bayfield embarks on his ‘Rugby Legends’ UK Tour.

This unique show will see Martin take to the stage with former players of the game to reveal never-heard-before stories. It is an incredible insight into the sport we all treasure. We have an exclusive interview with Martin himself to chat about his incredible career and all about his upcoming UK tour.

He begins by telling us “rugby players all love telling stories. I do a lot of public speaking, so I’ve always thought it would be great to take what I do and put it on stage.” Martin was influenced greatly by the first lockdown, “people asked us to record a message for their parents or grandparents who were struggling. That stuck with me, so I thought about getting myself and some others from the world of rugby up on a stage, releasing the handbrake and letting everyone talk.”

“they’re players who have overcome adversity, they’re players who make me laugh and will make other people laugh”

Martin Bayfield.

Rugby Legends features guests that have “stories to tell” says Bayfield, “they’re players who have overcome adversity, they’re players who make me laugh and will make other people laugh.” He guarantees that the guests will “inspire you, motivate you and they’re insightful.” Guests include Benjamin Kaiser, Lawrence Dallaglio and All Blacks star, Sean Fitzpatrick.

Before Martin Bayfield became a professional rugby player he was a serving police officer.

He explains that “I took that role seriously and wouldn’t ever let anyone down. It was crazy, though. Like we won a Grand Slam in 1992 on the Saturday, hungover on the Sunday and back the beat on the Monday.” Although he says that when the sport suddenly went professional he “missed it terribly. It’s something now that’s hard to imagine, just going from amateur to professional within a matter of days. There were no rules and was pretty shambolic, but somehow it got through.”

One of his career highlights was his time with the Lions in ’93. “I loved that tour,” Martin explains, “I know we didn’t win it, but we nearly did as we lost the series 2-1. I absolutely loved that, though. Just to be part of that history, to be able to say you were a British & Irish Lion is pretty special. I remember that tour with huge affection.”

Martin will also be releasing his very first book, A Very Tall Story, in September.

“The aim of the book initially was going to be a love letter to rugby, just exploring why I love the game so much. Then I started to realise it was becoming more thoughtful about certain aspects, like how I felt when I got dropped from the England team when my career came to an end, what has inspired me and what things have I done well or where I could have done better.”

“It became something much more than I initially planned, but always at its heart, it’s still about a journey through this ridiculous sport where you have the very best characters and the most amazing matches, but at the same time the slight sense of the shambolic that is always present. I hope that what comes through is that there’s a lot of laughter, but there’s a serious and quite emotional side to it too.”

His show Rugby Legends will be a great night for fans of the sport. Not only that but you’ll “see and hear some of the greatest players who have ever played the game.”

Rugby Legends comes to Leicester Athena on Thurs 29 August with guests Ben Kay & Brian Moore.

Tickets for the show are on sale now via myticket.co.uk from £30 with VIP tickets including meet & greets and more at £95.

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