With the IRB Sevens circus arriving in England this weekend at Twickenham, we spoke to one of the stars of the season, Sale’s Northampton-bound star Ben Foden…
How’s it going Ben?
Yeah it’s going well, we only met up this week and we’ve had some good training session and I’ve just been getting back into the swing of things with sevens. I’ve not played it for a while…
When was that?
My last competitions were at Dubai and George (November/December) and I injured my shoulder, that kept me out for a while…
Does it take long to get back in the swing?
Definitely, it’s a completely different game and more demanding in an anaerobic way. When you play 15s you wake up in the morning feeling like you’ve been in a car crash. With sevens you get an acute burn in your legs. When you take to the sevens’ field you have to go at for the full 14 minutes and give it 110 per cent – it’s a game where you have to take your chances and just get ready for that burn in your lungs and your legs.
How’s the squad looking?
We’ve got some good new players and players that have played a bit of sevens like Andy Vilk, Ben Gollings and myself. Then we’ve got people like Tom Biggs and Lee Dickson coming through…
Lee Dickson, your future team-mate at Saints…
Yeah, I’ve known Lee from age group rugby, we competed for the number nine shirt at England 18s and 21s, so I know him pretty well.
Who came off better then?
I think it was pretty even, Jim Mallinder used to rotate the 21s, so I wouldn’t like to see who got the better. He’s a great player though and I’m looking forward to the rivalry, hopefully it’ll bring the best out of me.
When did you know you were leaving Sale?
I sat down with them quite early on and they were keen for me to sign but just as a 15. I didn’t want to be labelled as a 15 so I realised it was time to move. I shopped around and some of the clubs had the same idea as Sale and saw me as a 15, others saw me as a nine. I spoke to Jim and he me as a nine and 15, he would give me the opportunity to play nine and if things don’t work out then he would look to use me as a full back as well. The main thing was just getting the chance to play nine and therefore hopefully putting my hand up for selection in that position.
Was the fact you’d worked with Mallinder at England age grade a factor?
Definitely, Jim is a brilliant coach with a lot to offer. It helps coming to a great set-up and Northamoton really want to go forward and move up the ranks – they’ve proved that by bringing in people like Jim and Dorian. I worked with Jim with the under-21s and at Sale and I like the stuff he does, he’s good at man management and he’s got a good understanding of the game. Hopefully working with someone like Jim will bring out the best in me…
Tough to leave Sale though?
Yes, Sale has been my favourite club since I was a young boy. The first Premiership I went to was down at Heywood Road watching Sale with my old man. I’m also a local lad and only 30 minutes from the sound, so it was a very tough decision. Even now I wake up at nights wondering if I’ve made the right decision, but I’ve got to myself now and I am looking forward to the challenge.
Did the signing of two other scrum-halves (Dickson and Alan Dickens) put a downer on things?
Definitely not, I spoke with Jim and it was good to see him making signings as a pro you need to pushed.
What about the signing of Dwayne Peel, did that impact on your decision to leave Sale?
He was announced before I decided and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t effect. I felt that they didn’t need to bring in Dwayne. He’s a great signing though.
Why is it so important to play nine and not 15?
I think that everyone has forgotten that I was originally a nine. I played all my age group rugby at nine, I’ve never faffed around being a utility label, it’s just a label that’s stuck with me for the past two seasons. I’d just like to be given the opportunity to play three or four Premiership games on the trot at nine – Sale never did that.
Going back to Sale’s season, not a great end…
Yeah I think as a club everyone was disappointed not to make the top four and to go out in the Challenge Cup semi-finals. The main aim was to be in the Heineken Cup again and we’ve managed that – even though I won’t be there – but it was disappointing not to get the result at London Irish.
What went wrong?
I think because we went to Quins and got the result we needed, in the back of our minds we thought we had the job done. But, the standard is high in the Premiership – London Irish got the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup and we went into the game a bit flat and you can’t do that.
What was it like after the game?
There was a lot of disappointment form the management and powers-that-be, but it was worse for the guys on the field – we were the ones who underperformed and threw it away. You’ve got to look at yourself in situations like that.
Is it going to be hard going back to play Sale next season?
Yeah it will be tough, the boys will be gunning for me.