From rugby to budgy smuggler! Chloe Madeley's boyfriend James Haskell flaunts his abs of steel in his own range of tiny swimming trunks

By William Lee Adams For Mailonline

Published: 12:56 EST, 7 November 2016 | Updated: 13:28 EST, 7 November 2016

Earlier this month he announced that he was collaborating with Australian swimwear brand Budgy Smuggler on his own range of trunks. 

And on Sunday rugby star James Haskell, 31, showed off the fruits of his labour - in the design studio and in the gym - as he posed for a bathroom selfie wearing his barely-there creation. 

Showing off his impressive six-pack and hulking thighs, he stared at himself through his phone while wearing a pair of white trunks decorated with red scrum caps.

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On Sunday rugby star James Haskell posted this bathroom selfie that shows him wearing his new line of swimwear, designed in conjunction with Australian label Budgy Smuggler 

It's the third time in the past month that James - the beau of fitness fanatic Chloe Madeley - has used Instagram to show off his impressive form while wearing Budgy Smugglers.

In an image uploaded last week, he wore a pair of black trunks decorated with what appeared to be pink palm tree fronds. 

He captioned the photo: 'I have teamed up with @budgysmuggler and done my own James Haskell Health and Fitness range. Stay tuned they are coming soon! '

The other image showed James, who currently plays for Wasps in the Aviva Premiership, wearing trunks that feature the Union Jack. 

Nice fit: In the past month James has shared two other snaps of himself wearing the Australian swimwear

James' partnership with the Australian swimwear label was born of ridicule.

At the start of the summer he was snapped wearing a pair of skimpy Budgy Smugglers featuring St George's flag while enjoying a holiday in Ibiza.

That led one national newspaper to mock the 'shrink-wrapped snugness' and the 'provocative in-yer-face fabric' of his trunks, which in turn fueled social media buzz over his body and provocative attire.

All the chatter led Budgy Smugglers to get in touch with the ripped athlete. 

Infamous: At the start of the summer James sparked a national discussion about men's swimwear when he stepped out in Ibiza wearing these tiny trunks. He shared this Instagram snap in October, and teased his collaboration by saying he had 'exciting news' about Budgy Smuggler

'The image went viral, with so many people reaching out to James across Social about his natty attire and demanding to know where Budgy Smugglers could be obtained,' the company says on its web site.

'Since the “picture” went global James has been hard at work with the Aussie Company who have developed the Budgy Smuggler brand from its traditional surf wear roots, into the must-have “smuggling” phenomonem it has become today.'

The latest selfies show that James is back in top form after enduring a toe injury, and subsequent surgery, that prevented him from exercising for several months.

At one point over the summer he made fun of his increased body fat and oblong physique, saying that he looked like  a 'melted wheelie bin'. 

From 'melted wheelie bin to incredible hulk': In October James Haskell shared this before-and-after shot, uploaded following his return to the gym after weeks of inactivity

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