I'll have spent most of the day before the match doing some preparation. That's a little bit like studying for your exams. You need to know the personalities involved, what the stories are surrounding the game and how they've come into this game. You do a lot of preparation. I like to go in knowing more than I need.

You see history in the making and that is definitely the highlight. You get to meet these amazing sportsmen and women, and see them develop as individuals. You get to meet them when they're first coming into their sport. You watch them develop and you build up relationships with them.

I was in China this year and I spent three weeks there with no luggage, in a really not very nice place and without anything except my passport and my wallet. You're a long way from home and you've got no phone and you can't get in touch with anybody.

I worked very hard as a young journalist learning the trade and asking questions, understanding what a story is and being able to present that in a way that people would find interesting.

They're [sportsmen] willing to give up a lot of other things that perhaps we all enjoy doing: eating and drinking and playing or whatever. They give up an awful lot to perform at the highest level.

I would say go for it because it is a fantastic job. It's a wonderful opportunity to go and get involved with sport at whatever level. What I would say is, if you can, go and work with your local radio station covering local sporting events.

Try and maybe write a couple of articles for your local paper. Perhaps you need to go to college to learn some things that might help you on the way. If you've got enthusiasm, determination and you love your sport - why shouldn't you be doing my job?