From scrums to the slopes: how rugby’s life lessons have helped hone Team GB’s Winter Olympians

Former Wasps forward Kearnan Myall is now performance director of GB Snowsport and using F1 tech and brain science to prepare for Milano Cortina 2026

It is not every day that a former rugby player is pivotal to Great Britain’s Winter Olympic prospects. Until recently Kearnan Myall, who spent 15 seasons playing professionally for Leeds, Sale and Wasps, had never skied so it has been a steep learning curve. “The most humbling thing is being at the top of the run with the Paralympic team, who are mostly visually impaired, and they just disappear into the distance while I’m still putting my boots on.”

As performance director of GB Snowsport, nevertheless, Myall’s job is to give the nation’s talented crop of snowboarders, freestyle, alpine and mogul skiers a decisive edge when the Games commence in Milan next week. And if Zoe Atkin, Kirsty Muir, Mia Brookes, Charlotte Bankes and others secure medals, helped by Formula One technology – liaising with McLaren to find a new type of material for ski bindings, brain science, cutting-edge coaching and the creative example of Mercury Prize-winning musicians, it will further establish the 39-year-old Myall as one of sport’s smartest thinkers.