Room 101: Adam Blades – Otley prop

1. Skinny Jeans
Skinny jeans look ridiculous on blokes of a certain age or build. People who should know better wear them simply as slaves to fashion, not because they look good/fit well. Skinny jean wearers of a bigger persuasion struggle to walk properly or sit down without being in major discomfort. They can’t be good for your health or fertility and the sooner that particular fad goes out the window the better as far as I’m concerned. Leeds scrum-half Craig Hampson loves his skinny jeans – and his sports car. I think he thinks he’s a member of One Direction! Scott Freer and Richard Beck are two of the bigger lads at Leeds who should know better. Thankfully I can pretty much live in a tracksuit in my job.
TRP verdict:  You make the ‘boot cut’ with this one
2. Bad manners
Saying please and thank you doesn’t cost you anything but it’s amazing how many people think this simple act of courtesy is beyond them. I was brought up to understood the importance of good manners and this is something I like to pass on to the kids we coach in the schools in and around Yorkshire. At the end of the first session with them you normally only get a handful of kids saying thank you, but by the fourth or fifth session the whole group pretty much stops you afterwards to voice their gratitude. Sometimes it makes you late leaving but that’s a small price to play for helping youngsters learn the right life skills.
TRP verdict:  Hold that door open, you’re going in to Room 101
3. Boot laces
I wish I could wear Velcro boots so that I don’t have to tie my laces up anymore. I have a funny way of tieing them – loosely and with the ‘bunny ears’ going the wrong way, which results in them coming undone quite frequently during matches. Somehow this normally always happens when we’re about to pack down for a five-metre scrum on our own try-line. People think I might be taking a breather, as an irate Leicester Lions supporter once let it be known in the Clubhouse after a game, but I can honestly say that it’s purely a coincidence.
TRP verdict:  We’re not tripping up over that one. You’re out.