The ‘DIY SOS’ and ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ star discusses his love of the oval ball…
Rugby World: What’s the first game you attended as a fan?
Nick Knowles: “I was 11 years old and my brother was 18 and had started driving. He took me to my first England International at Twickenham against Ireland during the 1974 Five Nations. It was towards the end of Mike Gibson’s career. I remember my brother shouting, ‘Gibson, where’s your wheelchair?’ because he was so old. He scored two tries that day (in a 26-21 Ireland victory), which really hushed my brother up.
“This was 50 years ago, standing in a line watching bottles of Irish whiskey being passed along the line and taking a cheeky swig thinking, ‘this is the life!’”
Do you have a match-day routine?
“The experience of going to Twickenham is unmatched, it’s the Valhalla of rugby. About 15 minutes before kick-off, my heart starts pumping and I get really emotionally involved.
“Weirdly, my only routine at rugby which I don’t do anywhere else is that I drink Guinness. I also try to get a really ugly burger. These days you get artisan, 100% Angus beefburgers and what you really want is something cheap with fried onions that is clearly the scrapings off the floor of the local abattoir.”
England’s home stadium in all its glory. Knowles first went to a Test there in 1974 (RFU/Getty Images)
Who was your childhood hero and did you ever meet them?
“To be honest, the great Bill McLaren was my childhood hero because I did that weird thing of siding with a favoured commentator. It was either McLaren or Nigel Starmer-Smith and I was always disappointed if it was Starmer-Smith for some reason. I then met him years later and he is the loveliest man.
“I was just in love with Bill McLaren’s commentary. He had a wonderful turn of phrase and maybe it had a hand in me eventually going into broadcasting. Of the current crop, I think David Flatman has that ability to describe things beautifully.
“On the pitch, it was Jean-Pierre Rives – a mad French flanker with flowing, golden hair.”
Which player from the past would you like to see playing today?
“Someone like Andy Ripley, an England No 8 back in the 1970s. He was, in the days of push and shove in the mud, very open-play and fast, and a great handler of the ball. He played at the same time as Roger Uttley, who suited the game back then more, whereas I think Ripley would have thrived in today’s conditions.”
Twin threat: Fin Calder and (standing) John Jeffrey in the 1990 Grand Slam decider (Getty Images)
Were there any opposition players that you particularly admired?
“I’m a former flanker and there was a point where Scotland had Finlay Calder and John Jeffrey, who were both world-class players and horrifically annoying at spoiling rucks, making late tackles and doing all the things you want from your flankers. They drove me nuts as opposition players.”
Where’s the best place you’ve ever watched a game?
“I played in Australia for two seasons in Kiama, just south of Wollongong in New South Wales, and it was amazing. My first training session was in 80-degree heat with 90% humidity straight from a British winter. I threw up after five minutes. Their ground, the Kiama Showground, was on the coast and the ball would often end up in the sea.
“The most beautiful rugby pitch I’ve played on came when I got half a game out in Western Samoa. There was a ground surrounded by those blue-top buildings underneath a mountain that then ran into the sea. That was awesome.
“I got a game in Aspen, Colorado, which is 2,400m above sea level. That was difficult. I was also just in Patagonia and managed to pick up a game in Buenos Aires for an all-ability team. That was special, a real bucketlist moment.
“That was the beauty of rugby when I was travelling; I could find a local club, walk in and a few hours later get a game and a bar job.”
What do you love most about rugby?
“The best thing is that, unlike any other sport in the world, when you meet rugby players, the internationals who are out of the game, say at hospitality or an evening talk, they are not guarded and minding their Ps and Qs like in other sports. You get told the funniest stories and there is no filter as long as you don’t record the conversations.”
What’s the funniest thing you’ve ever seen at a game?
“I was at Twickenham with (TV presenter) Ben Shephard. There was a guy sitting in front of us with a hood on the back of his coat. He was slightly drunk and started to nod off. Ben and I were cheeky and started collecting plastic pint glasses and stacking them in his hood.
“I once watched England against Scotland, under the influence of a few pints. As a bit of banter, I said that referee Nigel Owens was refereeing for the Scots to make up for England beating the Welsh the week before. It wasn’t the brightest thing, there were people with pitchforks waiting for me at the Severn Bridge!
“Nigel then appeared on Jonathan Davies’s TV show dressed as me, wearing a hard hat that said Dick Knowles on it! Me and Nigel have made up since and I’ve written Welsh poetry to show my love for them.”
Which player would you choose as your co-host on TV?
“Probably Ryan Jones, the former Wales captain and British & Irish Lion. He’s the nicest man in the world. When you meet him, you cannot believe someone as nice as him operated in the engine room of Test rugby. He’s a fabulous human being and I love him to bits. He would be the first call and then second would be the ‘Fun Bus’, Jason Leonard.”
Television gold: Ryan Jones savours a Welsh Grand Slam in 2008. “I love him to bits,” says Knowles
Where’s the strangest place you’ve ever met a coach or player?
“Not a player but I’ve had conversations about the sport all over the world. I was in the middle of the Mongolian desert and there was an expat Mongolian who lived in Queens and had made his millions in construction.
“He then decided to build a five-star hotel out of a Ger, which is a Mongolian yurt. In there he had built the best whiskey and bourbon bar I’ve ever seen. I sat there until 4am with this Mongolian New Yorker, drinking bourbon and talking about 1970s Welsh rugby!”
Who is your favourite current player?
“Well, Antoine Dupont. I assume everyone says him? He is mesmerising. How good he is, how physical he is and how well he reads a game. There is even a law in place because of him. He is outstanding at everything he does.
“I also love watching Cheslin Kolbe, the Springbok winger. Man, there is no such thing as a lost cause to that man. He gives 100% all the time, a wonderful player to watch.
“And then Siya Kolisi. I would make him Mayor, President and Pope – he is an extraordinary human being.”
If you could pick an ultimate back row to be part of, whose names would be appearing alongside Nick Knowles?
“Richard Hill, who I think is still hugely underrated. And Lewis Moody, because you always need a tough man!”
Lewis Moody passes at the 2007 World Cup. ‘You always need a tough man,” says Knowles (Getty Images)
This article on Nick Knowles first appeared in the December 2023 issue of Rugby World
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