As England rugby legend Eddie Jones celebrates his World Cup victory, James Haskell ‘gropes’ an ex-Sky broadcaster

James Haskell’s affectionate side was on display following England’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinal victory over Fiji as he consoled coworker and former Sky reporter Alex Payne.

James Haskell, a former England rugby player, tainted the working environment after he was seen flirting with former Sky broadcaster Alex Payne.

The obvious cop-out occurred when the two, who co-host The Good, The Bad, and The Rugby podcast, watched England defeat Fiji in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal on Sunday.

After defeating the Flying Fijians 30-24 in Marseille, Steve Borthwick’s squad has defied the odds to become the first northern hemisphere team to advance to the last four in France.

At the Stade Velodrome, Haskell and Payne saw the Red Rose advance to the knockout rounds and extend their winning streak in France to five games in a row. And after grabbing his co-host by the crotch, Haskell may have been guilty of getting a little too excited.

The 77-cap ex England international shared a video of the pair singing along to “Sweet Caroline” during full-time as it was being played over the speakers. Fitness fanatic Haskell, 38, didn’t pass up the chance to show off his entire body for the audience and posted another video of him spinning his T-shirt above his head.

And in royal company, too, as Zara Tindall, the granddaughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and the daughter of Princess Anne, was spotted dancing in the background. A second former England star, Mike, who appears as the third regular on The Good, The Bad, and The Rugby, is married to Tindall.

Among his 565,000 followers, Haskell’s privates-pinching moment elicited a range of responses, with one teasing the former back-rower swiftly releasing after spotting the camera. But given that Payne didn’t seem to hesitate about the grab, the response was mostly in joke.

One Instagram user made the joke, “Steady on…we only have a semi,” in a play on England’s miraculous performance in Marseille. However, some people weren’t as used to seeing such things, as seen by the question: “What’s with grabbing his bits?”

Umbro is providing England’s rugby team with their uniforms for the competition as they go for victory in France. The supplier has never before been given the opportunity to create the uniforms, which feature a classic white home jersey adorned with the recognizable red rose.

Given the magnitude of the task ahead of them, one cannot fault any England supporters for celebrating their team’s victory on Sunday. In a rematch of the 2019 World Cup final, Borthwick’s team will face South Africa, the current champions after the Springboks eliminated hosts France to get to the semifinals.

If England is to go past Saturday’s semifinal and into the Paris championship game, it will need their most impressive performance of the Borthwick era to date. And if they manage to pull it off, who knows what Haskell would do to Payne.