Today we spoke with Mike Brown - English professional rugby player, with 72 caps for England Mike has amassed 340 appearances for Harlequins (and 500 points), 12 for Newcastle and 72 caps for the England national rugby union team. Predominantly a full back, Mike has won three 6 Nations titles with England and two English Premiership titles with Harlequins. He won the 2014 RBS Six Nations player of the championship award...and is renowned for his work ethic, tenacity and ability to attack with ball in hand. Today we unpacked the full back position and why that was the position for Mike (he started as a 10, has the heart of a 6). We discussed leadership, culture and high performing teams, all areas of interest for Mike, which he is studying as a part of the Sports Directorship, at Manchester Metropolitan University. Mike explained the intricacies of bringing club players from different environments and playing styles together for the national team, and the challenges of that for England. Mike dived into his playing philosophy around training, his preparation - and the nuggets as to how we can all catch a high ball better, with mentions to Irish legends like Conor O'Shea and Gavin Duffy. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 📝 Being a free agent in rugby and looking for a new club 🔑 Why identity and culture are key ingredients to team success 💪 Mike’s expected standards of excellence 🏉 How to catch spiral bombs 👨‍🎓 Career transition and Sports directorship 👑 Great leaders Mike has worked with and ☘️ The Irish connection to Mike’s game For information on previous guests and shows please visit www.SleepEatPerformRepeat.com. Previous guests include Cal Newport, Dr Michael Gervais, Joy Neville, Rich Froning, BJ Fogg, Sonia O'Sullivan, Rich Diviney, Keith Earls, Caelan Doris, Chanelle McCoy, PJ Nestler, Jack Butcher, Shane O'Sullivan, Chris Burkard, Brian Keane, Steve Magness, Owen Eastwood, Steven Kotler, Daniel Davey, Ray Goggins, Shane O'Donnell, Jonny Cooper, Capt Emily Bassett, George Kruis, Brett Bartholomew, Aoife McDermott, Lisa Jacob and many more.