For a self-styled shy and unassuming lad, Matt Banahan certainly knows how to be noticed, whether it's crashing his 6ft 7in body over hapless tacklers on a rugby field, or riding around Bath on his Yamaha motor-bike, complete with more body tattoos than anyone in the Guinness Premiership.
The 22-year-old from Jersey only started taking rugby seriously when he was 17 but now, five years' on, the number eight turned winger is one of the most feared attackers in the game, and making a convincing argument to retain his England jersey for the autumn internationals, after making his debut against Argentina at Old Trafford last June, a game in which he scored a try, was made man of the match, and England won.
Meet him in a dark alley at night and you might fear the worst. "Big guy, loads of tattoos," Banahan says. "I can see that. But you couldn't be more wrong. I live outside Bath with my girlfriend and two dogs, and spend most of my spare time hanging out at the moto-cross shop next door, or watching my mates Tom Church and Josh Coppins competing. They came 14th and 4th in the moto-cross world championships and I like nothing better than to sit in the workshop chatting away."
But what about the tattoos? "My tatties?" he responds. "I see them as works of art. I have a lucky arm, a clover leaf, a pin up girl and the numbers 7 and 13, half a spitfire on my other arm and chest - the other half is on my brother - a view from Jersey on my neck, and my parents' initials behind my ears. I've got my stomach and back planned. I'm going to put some world war two battle scenes, including a Lancaster bomber, in tribute to my Granddad who was a Lancaster pilot."
Well, he has a long enough back, but what on earth do his parents think? "They gave up after the first tattoo," Banahan replies. "They love me, and that's all that matters."
Then there is the now notorious Youtube clip of a 19-year-old Banahan flattening two Guernsey players when, in between leaving London Irish and joining Bath, he played for his beloved Jersey in a grudge, inter-island match. "My Dad told me I'd be targetted and promised me £200 if I didn't fight. I came off the bench and got yellow-carded after two minutes for receiving a punch, and not throwing one back. Thirty seconds after returning someone threw another punch and the red mist descended. The next thing I remember I was walking off the pitch having been sent off. It cost me £200 from my Dad, and I've never lost my control again. Now my way of getting back is by making big hits, or scoring tries."
Plenty of which he has been doing since the season began after a sorry summer for Bath still recovering from the drugs-related scandal that saw five players leave. "It's brought the rest of us closer together and we see a massive responsibility and role for us left at the club to leave it behind us and to get back to dominating like Bath used to when I was a kid. It's a new chapter, for sure."
How well the players respond will be put to the test in the next fortnight with a visit from Stade Francais and first, a daunting trip to Ulster, who will provide a traditional Friday night welcome at Ravenhill in the first pool game of the Heineken Cup.
"If you've played in Argentina, where they've got mesh up to stop the fans climbing over, and the drums and the flares are going off, then a trip to Ulster won't intimidate you," is Banahan's take. "With Glasgow in the group as well it's a very even pool but we've gone from losing the European Challenge Cup final to winning it, then reaching the Heineken Cup quarter-finals in the past three seasons, and this time we expect to go even better."
Matt Banahan is supported by Adidas and Lansdown Mazda.
