Sponsored by
Rugby Union: Superstar Ben Foden eyeing vintage 2012 INTERVIEW
Ben Foden with fiancee Una Healy.
Ben Foden helped England’s rugby union side to a crucial success against Scotland on Saturday and admits a week-long training camp in Leeds was key to the Six Nations build-up.
Nothing, though, can prepare Foden personally for a monumental 2012 which will feature his marriage to his pop-star fiancee and the birth of their baby girl.
Full-back Foden was instrumental in hauling England over the line at Murrayfield on Saturday for a gritty 13-6 success that keeps the country’s Six Nations hopes alive ahead of this weekend’s clash in Italy.
Foden had fancied an opening Six Nations success at Murrayfield – insisting Stuart Lancaster’s side benefited from a faultless week’s preparation at West Park Leeds RUFC – but the 26-year-old admits there is simply no bracing himself off the field for an enormous 2012.
Before he ties the knot to his celebrity fiancee Una Healy of girl-band The Saturdays, the couple are looking forward to the birth of their first child, with the Irish singer due to give birth on Wednesday, March 21.
That’s just four days after England’s Six Nations finale against Ireland somewhat ironically and with a June wedding also on the horizon it’s little wonder the pin-up of English rugby is in something of a spin.
“I think this next year is going to be the biggest year of my life and I’ve got a lot to look forward to!” Foden exclusively told the YEP.
“Obviously it is going to be a little bit scary sometimes but scary in the right way and it’s exciting.
“These sorts of things give you a real buzz but it’s something that I have never experienced before and it’s something that you can’t really prepare yourself for.
“It’s just a massive learning curve for me but it’s something I am really excited about.
“This year I’ve got the Six Nations, a baby and a wedding to look forward to, and who knows what next? I’ll be ready for anything after that I think!”
Next up on Foden’s busy agenda is Saturday’s Six Nations showdown with Italy in Rome with Lancaster’s side full of confidence following Saturday’s determined success at Murrayfield.
England had to dig deep to hold off the unlucky hosts and Foden feels his side benefited enormously from their pre-Six Nations training camp in Leeds – a break from the usual tradition of preparing abroad.
Being from Chester, the Northampton Saints star was also only to glad to be based ‘up north’.
“I’m from Chester so it was good being up in Leeds as we always used to go away to Portugal and it was like a ghost town out there,” he said.
“There was no-one really there and when we would have food and things we would be the only ones in the marina, so it was nice being up in Leeds seeing friendly faces.
“We got some really good support in Leeds and there were some great facilities with things like the training grounds and the gym. We were very well looked after – the food was good and it was terrific.
“Then we had speeches from people like Kevin Sinfield.
“It’s nice to get freshened up now and again and it seemed like a really refreshing place to be.”
The training camp was the brain-wave of current interim boss Lancaster – the former Leeds Carnegie director of rugby who hopes to ultimately make the position his own.
Asked if Lancaster can earn the England job on a full-time basis, Foden added: “Definitely and from what everyone has seen so far he has definitely stepped up to the mark and delivered on all aspects of what you expect from a head coach.
“If we have a successful Six Nations after everyone has written us off as well after the World Cup disappointment then I’m sure it will put him in good stead to get the job full time.
“I think the exciting thing is that we went into the Six Nations as underdogs because we haven’t got the experience that other teams are taking through from World Cups and past Six Nations.
“We are a young side but we are very excited and we are hoping that the guys who have been drafted in can take us forward.
“Stuart has been very expressive in saying that the guys who have been drafted in have been picked because they are in good form for their clubs and they now have an opportunity to hopefully do even better for their country.
“For guys like me it is a little bit different because obviously I am going to have to take a bit more of a senior role and a bit more of a leadership role.
“With people stepping out of the squad there are openings there and people need to fill those voids.
“I’m 26 now and with 23 caps – one of the most senior players in the squad so I’ve got to lead from the front whether I am selected to play or not.
“It’s also about helping the other guys as well and helping them prepare for international action.”
Foden, who will turn 27 on July 23, hopes his new-found responsibity will be mirrored off the field with the impending birth of his and Una’s baby girl.
Choosing a name is also Foden’s responsibility with his other half reportedly stating that the rugby star can look after that aspect after labelling all of her suggestions as rubbish.
“We have done the small things – we have got the nursery ready and things like that – and now we have just got to prepare for ourselves and read all the books!” laughed Foden.
“But when it comes to it, it will be hands on experience and I am really looking forward to it.”
And behind every good man as they say is a good woman with Foden revealing he and his popstar better half are huge influences on each other’s careers.
“She’s always watching my games and supporting as best she can but obviously with the baby she has to be watching on the TV rather than turning up in the stands!” said Foden. “But she has always been a big fan of rugby and her family are big rugby fans.
“Back in Ireland they always go and watch my games and they are great supporters.
Support
“I do the same for her and whenever I have got free time I get down and support her in concerts and at gigs and whatever she is doing.
“We have always been very supportive towards each other’s careers and being in the public eye as it were makes it easier for us to understand each other’s careers and needs.”
With a baby and a celebrity wedding on the way, that public interest will only intensify as 2012 continues. Indeed, Ben and 30-year-old Una have already been labelled as rugby’s answer to Posh and Becks.
But that’s just fine with Foden who hopes rugby’s new celebrity couple can be one to look up to.
Asked about the celebrity lifestyle and the continued paparazzi, Foden said: “I understand that it comes with the territory and the more successful we are individually the more successful we will be together.
“And I think we want to be perceived as idols. We don’t want to be hated. We want people to look up to us and think ‘they set the standards’ and especially me being professional whether it be off the field or on the field.
“With Una she needs to be in magazines and people like to see what she’s wearing because she is in a girl band and thousands of 15/16-year-olds look up to her and want to have the look that The Saturday girls are wearing.
“For me, obviously I understand that when we go to certain places you are going to be pictured and for instance if we’re going to nightclubs I’ll only have one or two beers because there is always going to be someone waiting with the camera.
“It‘s all understandable and with me and Una we live just out of the way of London so we know when we are entering London there is going to be more chance of us being photographed.
“It’s all about how you conduct yourself.”
On and off the field right now, Foden is doing just fine.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.