Gabby Logan's Blog by Gabby_Logan

The England former prop Matt Hampson came on my show this week. If you don't know who Matt Hampson is, then may I suggest get your hands on a copy of his extraordinary book Engage. It is written by the brilliant sports journalist and author Paul Kimmage. The reason Matt couldn't write the book himself is because 6 years ago he was training with the England under 21 rugby team, the scrum collapsed and he lay at the bottom of it unable to move. He woke up about ten days later and he has never been able to move anything below the neck since. He then spent 18 months in hospital.

You may have read extracts from his book which have appeared in various newspapers. If you have, then you will have had a taste of the bravery, humility and humour that has been the make up of this incredible man. Meeting him was a humbling experience. Watching him navigate his large wheelchair with his chin, and hearing his joy at talking about the little things that make him happy (going for a drive in the car, watching the trees in his garden and having lunch with his brother-in-law). It was all so perversely cruel that we met on the very day that the England rugby team had arrived in New Zealand ahead of the Rugby World Cup. He is 26 years old now and his early promise for the under 21's could easily have developed into a full-blown international career by now.

One of his best mates who was in that Under 21 team is James Haskell, who is out in New Zealand and will feature for England. Life is cruel, that's what I kept thinking, but Matt won't let himself dwell on that too much, but it is so bloody cruel. Little things really don't matter. We all know that we get worked up about things that will get blown over by the next day. I promised myself I would never moan about the little things again as I sat in Matt's presence. But of course I will. At some point in the next week I will forget my promise and moan about my bum being too big, or some other ridiculous thing and I dislike it that I know this already.

The book allows Matt's dreams and hallucinations to come alive, the images of a different future which cruelly taunt him in his darker moments. It is a dramatic account of a young man going from brilliance and a golden life to disability and the ensuing struggle, in the blink of an eye. I watched my kids playing on an indoor climbing frame the next day. I watched their clever bodies moving effortlessly around the slides and the tunnels and I imagined what life is like for Matt Hampson’s parents and of course I cried. He doesn't want our pity, but life can be bloody cruel.