The Exeter wing sought advice from a sports psychologist, who helped him to realise that one poor play wasn’t going to have a major impact on his life.

He told Rugby World magazine: “I used to struggle a lot with performance anxiety.

“My sports psychologist told me that if you drop the ball, in the grand scheme of the world, what happens? People aren’t going to hate you.

“A few fans might, but it’s not the be-all and end-all.”

Paul’s other best piece of sporting advice was about the way he carries himself on the field.

He added: “Another thing I was told about related to posture.

“How you hold your posture can determine what your mood is.

“There are power poses that you can hold, like having your hands on your hips, looking up and not crawling into yourself.

“That basic thing can change your mood.

“When you’re nervous before a game, making sure your chest is out, you’re looking up and scanning everything around you, power posing is really good.”

The 23-year-old sportsman is often the butt of his team-mates' jokes.

He said: “I’m a pretty chilled person, but I’m one of the younger lads in the team and some of the older wingers like to hide my stuff.

“So if I get a new pair of boots and leave them by my section in the changing room, they’ll take them out and hide the boots.

“One will go in the bin and one will be put on a shelf in the showers. Anywhere out of my gaze.”