James Haskell opens up to David Walsh about Stade Francais and calendars in The Sunday Times.
"When Max first called to ask about the calendar, James Haskell’s instinct was to say no. Barely a week with his new club Stade Français, he didn’t need to pose virtually naked. But Max Guazzini, the club’s owner and his boss, is persuasive and Haskell hadn’t set up home in Paris’s 17th arrondissement to say no to every new experience. So he played for time.
"What he knew about the calendar was this: it was the biggest seller in France, each year a different renowned photographer took the pictures, it was massively popular with the gay community and with young and not-so-young women. If he said yes, Haskell would play into the hands of those who see him as a glamour boy with a weakness for off-the-field distractions. He could hear them tut-tutting: “Haskell, he’s only started in Paris, and he’s done this.” But these people, what did they mean to him? Since when was he going to live his life to satisfy them? In any case, their disapproval was insatiable.
“Max,” he said, “it would be an honour to appear.” His fellow England internationals Simon Shaw, Tom Palmer and Olly Barkley, and the Scottish internationals Hugo Southwell, Thom Evans and Max Evans, also said yes. They took him to an industrial part of Paris and the shoot was done on a rooftop car-park. The photographer was an American who kept screaming: “Chin up, chin down, chin out.”
"Women wolf-whistled from nearby offices and he had to laugh. “What greater commitment can a man show his club,” he thought, “than to stand bollock naked on a rooftop holding a golden rugby ball over his groin?” When the pictures were processed, Max pulled him to one side. “James,” he said, “we’re very impressed. We think you could be the front cover.” And he was pleased. He thought it was unbelievable that with all the pretty boys who play in the backs, they should choose him for the front."
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