England prop Ellis Genge on what is keeping him sane during the lockdown

Ellis Genge has revealed how gaming is helping him survive the frustrations of the coronavirus pandemic lockdown in England. The loosehead has emerged as one of the livewire characters of the ongoing RugbyPass FIFA charity tournament, while League of Legends is the gaming fix that has been keeping him up until all hours of the night. 

“League is my way of escaping from rugby at the moment,” said Genge in an interview with The Telegraph. The Leicester and England prop suffers from dyspraxia and adjusting to life without his sport and being in the outdoors hasn’t been without its challenges due to the shutdown of everyday life to combat the spread of the virus. 

“There is all this s*** going on at the moment and I’m obviously quite dark about not being able to train. We’ve had pay-cuts. I’m very aware that there are bigger things going on in the world but (gaming) is a good way to stay indoors and isolate. I’m a bit of a night owl anyway, so it’s not too different.

“In the season I have found myself up until one or two in the morning, dare I say it. Sometimes you don’t know it’s happening!

“Time just flies by. Each game lasts 20 or 30 minutes with 40 minutes to set it up… and the next thing it’s two in the morning and you’ve got a game at 2.30 the next day. It’s easy to lose yourself.”