He’s only been in camp for just over a week but there have already been some peculiar goings-on
British & Irish Lions prop Will Stuart has revealed he has already risked spooking one of his new team-mates on the tour, after his night-time habit got him into trouble in another camp.
The Bath and England star joined up with Andy Farrell’s squad at the start of last week, having been named in the touring party alongside fellow tightheads Tadhg Furlong and Finlay Bealham. As is tradition on Lions tours to foster camaraderie and team bonding, he has been paired as a roommate with Ireland international Bealham, but things have got off to a peculiar start.
Stuart has a history of sleepwalking, a sleep disorder that involves carrying out a range of complex activities – such as getting up and walking around – when not fully awake.
Also known as somnambulism, it is more common during childhood but is believed to affect around seven per cent of adults at some point in their lives, while one per cent experience it regularly.
In an interview with MailOnline, Stuart admitted he had already had an interesting nocturnal experience while sharing a room with Bealham, but gave credit to the Irishman for how he handled the situation.
“I’ve been rooming with Finlay Bealham, he’s a funny guy,” he said. “He’s had to put up with me sleepwalking already, which he dealt with pretty well.
“He was in the bed next to the window and I’d got up and crept behind his bed and woke up behind the curtain next to the window.
“I opened the curtain and he was just there. I’m surprised he didn’t wake up and get the fright of his life!”
The 28-year-old tighthead added that he would be making sure he went to bed suitably dressed while on tour, having been “caught out” in previous camps with England.
“‘I’ve had some bad instances,” he recalled. “The worst it’s got in camp has been locking myself out of hotel rooms and getting halfway to the lobby.
“Hopefully that doesn’t happen on this trip. I might just wear a few more layers in bed because I’ve been caught out a couple of times!”
Stuart entered the Lions camp last Monday, having helped Bath to their first Premiership title win in nearly 30 years, a triumph which sealed a historic Treble for the club.
As could be expected, the celebrations that followed were suitably wild, with the England international admitting he and club teammate Finn Russell were “a bit ropey” when they first joined up with Farrell’s squad.
Asked if he’d had enough time to savour Bath’s title win before turning his attention to a busy summer with the Lions, Stuart said: “Er, yeah!
“I think we did enough in two days to warrant a season celebration and the day after we were a bit ropey coming in, but I managed to dust off the cobwebs quite quickly.
“Some of the other Bath lads were still going for a few more days, but I haven’t got that sort of staying power, so I was quite glad that I had to do this instead!”
