The smell of freshly cut Twickenham grass emanates from Dan Cole when he sits down, sporting training kit and clutching a pair of boots, in a windowless room beneath the home of English rugby. Having ticked off the first session of another demanding week in international camp the prop easily pivots from the training field to fielding questions from the gaggle of writers huddled around him.
Tucking the black leather boots under his chair, Cole proceeds to bat back the ensuing inquiries with the confidence and humour of a player who has been there, seen it and done it in elite rugby. The 36-year-old’s England journey is a story well told; particularly the narrative arc from a difficult 2019 Rugby World Cup final against South Africa, to a phenomenal individual display in the one-point defeat by the Boks in last year’s semi-final.
