Joe Batley: From cancer survivor to one of the Premiership’s most durable players

A plant-based diet was recommended by various nutritionists and Darren Dawidiuk, the hooker who had battled cancer over the previous year. I found the texture really… mushy all the time.” Batley gradually progressed to different markers in training and was loaned out to refamiliarise himself with match demands: “Nothing prepares you for mauls and scrums like mauls and scrums.” His sense of humour and his tactful nature will be valuable to the sufferers he speaks to as an ambassador for the Rugby Against Cancer charity, and indeed anyone hoping to pick his brains. Instead of us talking things through, she’d wear it.” Being a sounding board, for those affected directly and for their families, has been “rewarding”, because Batley has accepted his past as part of his identity. “To the annoyance of my partner sometimes, I tend to have a lot of confidence that it’ll be alright,” Batley says. Your currency is your performance in professional sport, so I had that comfort.” There were opportunities abroad and Batley’s partner, Anna, was “open to every possibility” despite the couple’s son, Wilfred, only just being born.