MY DAY OFF..ADAM RADWAN

THERE IS a symmetry to Adam Radwan’s favourite hobby. A player renowned for his remarkable athleticism, leaping like a salmon to score by the corner flag, likes nothing better than spending a day fly fishing on the River Tyne.

- Alan Pearey 

“My real passion is salmon fishing,” the Newcastle and England wing tells Rugby World. “And it’s not easy. I get a lot of stick off my mates; every day they ask if I caught one. Nope! That is salmon fishing, it’s very challenging. You’re always having to adapt techniques and tactics, trying to work out what the fish want, because as soon as the salmon leaves the sea and starts swimming up the river, it doesn’t eat anything. So you’re effectively fishing for a fish that has no appetite.

“And then once you hook one, the next challenge is trying to land it because they’re pretty big and extremely powerful. If you’re stood up to your armpits in water, trying to get one into your net is difficult.

“So it makes no sense to go salmon fishing really! But the reward of getting one is worth the hours and hours of not even seeing one.”

Radwan first got into the sport as a six-year-old when his grandad, Jim Matthews, would take him fishing or shooting at weekends. Sometimes they’d take a boat out to sea and fish for cod, more often they’d head to the river and try for salmon or trout. Endless blissful hours which have never lost their lustre for the flying Falcon.

“It’s complete escapism. Professional rugby is intense and manic. Fishing is a great switch-off. The beauty of fly fishing is it’s so relaxing but it’s also a really exciting and visual form of fishing. A lot of the time you can see fish take the fly, you can see it moving, and you’re always fishing in a beautiful part of the country, so it’s hard to be stressed out.