Feeder of the pack

For a rugby-playing chef, being appointed the chief provider of food for the England rugby union team, one of the favourites to win the sport's world cup in November, is a dream job. There's just one snag for David Campbell: he's Scottish. "I want to be with a team that wins," he admits sheepishly - an honest if somewhat dangerous statement for a Glasgow boy to make.

Thirty-two-year-old Campbell became involved with the England team four years ago when the side began to use Pennyhill Park hotel in Bagshot, Surrey, where he is senior sous chef, as its base before home international matches. Earlier this year, his de facto role in feeding the team was taken a step further when he was asked to become its official chef and travel with the squad on training trips, and to international matches and competitions such as the world cup.

That's why, yesterday, he left for Australia with a remit to produce five meals a day for a squad of 30 players and 20 or so team officials. Given that he will be away (if England make it to the final) for the better part of eight weeks, and that most of the players weigh in at more than 15 stones (95kg), this is quite a feat of logistics.

"They eat about two-and-a-half times as much as you or me," Campbell says. "You can't think in terms of doing a function for 60, you have to calculate food for 150 people. The single hardest thing, though, is trying to keep the food interesting."

This is particularly so when there are dietary requirements to take into consideration - as there are. These parameters, however, come not from faddy players, but from dietitians who work with the England rugby management. The object is to get the players at the peak of physical and mental fitness for their tilt at the world title. "Rugby's a power sport," Campbell explains, "therefore the guys need a high protein intake and plenty of carbohydrates - lean meat, chicken and turkey, pasta, that sort of thing."

Off-limits are any dishes with high or saturated fat produce such as cheese, cream and butter. And chocolate's definitely a non-starter, other than as a teatime treat following training sessions on the day before a match. "It's a morale booster," reveals Campbell, "slabs of crushed digestive biscuits with milk chocolate poured over them."

Lawrence Dallaglio, the England team's No 8, confirms: "It has become a bit of a ritual, really - proper full-fat biscuits with afternoon tea. But only if you've been good…"

Dallaglio has been known to quiz Campbell for the odd recipe or two to cook at home. He has some sympathy for the chef's task. "Making eating an enjoyable experience, rather than just something that has to be done to maintain energy levels, is really important," he says.

How does a typical day, and menu, look?

Kick-off is with a "normal" breakfast between 7am and 9.30am, then the team will go off for a training session, after which lunch will be eaten at around 12.30pm. A normal meal, served buffet-style, will have a soup, four or five different salads and two or three main choices, always with a couple of protein options and a carbohydrate boost (such as a pasta bake). Dessert might be fresh fruit and yogurt, or something such as a low-fat rice pudding.

After lunch, the team will have another training session, followed by afternoon snacks - things like brown baguettes and sandwiches filled with lean ham, chicken, or the like, plus fruit and some nut and pulse snacks such as dried apricot slices. "They have to eat straight away after intensive training sessions, or their muscles go catabolic," Campbell explains.

Dinner comes along between 7pm and 8pm, on a similar format to lunch, which means food such as steak, seafood tagliatelle and a range of salads. There's another snack time at around 9pm.

Match days vary only slightly, with the precise schedule depending on kick-off time. Afternoon matches mean breakfast followed by a pre-match meal three hours before the game starts: poached eggs on toast, spaghetti bolognese, jacket potatoes, fresh fruit. "Nothing with spice or too strong a flavour - the boys in the scrum wouldn't like that too much," Campbell says.

With such a strictly controlled regime to adhere to, you'd expect a bunch of beefy rugby players to show the odd bit of rebellion and sneak in some forbidden fruit. It appears not. "They're incredibly professional," Campbell says. Come on, isn't there a trouble-maker somewhere? "Will Greenwood won't eat my colcannon," Campbell admits. "He always asks for plain mash - never takes mustard with anything."

And the biggest pig? "Put it this way," Dallaglio says, "when I go looking for the prawns in the salad, Dorien West has normally beaten me to it. And you've got to get into the dining room before the front row [forwards]."

However, Campbell has a secret weapon for troublesome English players. "I threaten them with haggis," he says.

With that in mind, there's one final test of his loyalties - who's going to be in the world cup final? "England, of course," he says, "and probably New Zealand."

He'd better take a bodyguard with him next time he goes back to Scotland.