Ahead of the Big Summer Kick Off this weekend, Harlequins star Louis Lynagh has revealed how gaming makes him a better rugby player.
On Saturday, Lynagh will be part of the Quins squad to take on Gloucester at Twickenham Stadium for Big Summer Kick Off, a festival-themed rugby event, headlined by Craig David. In what is the penultimate game of the season, Lynagh will be hoping to inspire Quins to a play-off spot this season, after scoring twice in the final last season which saw Lynagh's side win the Premiership.
Ahead of the game, Lynagh gave an exclusive interview to the Level up! The Esports and Gaming Show podcast, in which he revealed how gaming makes him a better player, why it's good for your mental health, how he relates to professional esports players and talked about the best gamers in the Quins squad.
"I don't think people realise that sportsmen and sportswomen, they love gaming," Said Lynagh. "We love it and I think people older people might think like, oh why do these guys game all the time, like in their free time they should be doing other stuff.
"People don't realise how gaming can improve life skills. I think from gaming from such a young age, games like Call of Duty and things that require a lot of reaction speed, I think it's improved my rugby genuinely.
"I think it's made my reaction speeds so quick. Or maybe I've already had those and they've just improved them. It's like brain training, a lot of gaming is muscle memory. The more you play it, the better you get, and the quicker your reactions get.
"It's a way of connecting with people that you probably haven't seen, for me I'm playing with my old schoolmates that haven't seen in years but there's some of them over in America, so I play with them once or twice and week and it's like catching up"
"That's part of the reason why it's a lot of fun and I've been gaming since I was seven years old!
"The reason I play games so much is not only I have a lot of fun doing it, I play with my mates, but it's also because I'm competitive. So when I do get hold of a game, I really want to become as good as possible as I can with it. And there's a bit of an annoying element to it where like I just, if I get killed or something on Call of Duty, I'm like, oh, gotta go play more.
"Like we said earlier, I think it's probably the biggest aspect of gaming, is the fact you can connect or reconnect with people you haven't spoken to in a long time.
Lynagh also revealed that he watches some of the top professional esports players, who often stream when they are competing, and he explains how he resonates with their skill and professionalism, particularly with how they deal with the mental side of competing.
"Oh, yeah, it's huge, I think even more so than professional sports. I applaud them for just having the mental fortitude to just keep going and like, the stuff they do, I really wish I could do and it's probably the same for them.
"I think there's a big stigma to professional esports, these guys practice, six, seven hours a day. I can really resonate with some of them because they've obviously had talent from a young age, and they had a passion to pursue them. They put in a lot of hours of work, and they're getting their just rewards from it.
"At any level, in any professional sport there will be top talents, you have to be very talented to get there in the first place. But then there are people obviously, way and beyond everyone else.
"A name that springs to mind in our team is Marcus Smith, who's also actually a really, really keen gamer. But he came into the team at 18 years old, and he got pushed into the limelight, and he just only went upwards from there.
"And you can see that with a lot of other (esports players) like Call of Duty for example, scump. (real name Seth Abner, Call of Duty player for the Call of Duty League team OpTic Texas)
"He was 16/17 when he first started competing and now obviously, look where he is now.
Lynagh then revealed the best gamers in the Quins team right now, but he's staking a claim as the best! "'I'm up there, but there are also a few others.
"Cadan Murley, who's the same position as me. We're good mates, in the same group of mates, he's very good as well. He doesn't have a PC though. I've been telling him he needs to get a PC because it'll take him to another level. There's one of my really close mates called Sam Riley. He's very good, he's a proper gamer and plays CS:GO and Valorant.
"I know an England rugby player called Luke Cowan-Dickie. He streamed a lot in the past and he played like Valorant and CS:GO stuff like that, and he was also a big Call of Duty player.
Lynagh also previewed the Big Summer Kick Off game on Saturday, Harlequins vs Gloucester, and revealed that he'll be playing games to prepare for the match!
"People don't realise gaming is an escape from all the stresses in life and work. For example, people are like, 'oh why would you play Warzone the night before a big game?'
"For me, if I just sit there and think about the game and worry about all these different scenarios, I won't play well, it's just not good for your mental health. If I play a bit of Warzone, an hour or so, then I'll be completely relaxed, ready to go!
"During the winter period, sellout crowd, we play a massive game and there's some entertainment but now this is huge for the club, and I think it's off the back of winning it last year.
"This Big Summer Kick Off. It's like a summer big game and I think that's the best thing about it. This game, this Saturday, it's meant to be clear, clear skies, sunshine, it'll be beautiful and I can't wait to play in it."
Watch Louis Lynagh for Harlequins vs Gloucester at Twickenham Stadium this Saturday 21 May for Big Summer Kick Off – a festival-themed rugby event with headline music act Craig David. Buy tickets here.
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