ALEX COLES
NORTHAMPTON LOCK

Alex Coles might have been a footballer had things turned out differently. A decent goalkeeper who was equally adept as a striker, he had schoolboy trials with Norwich City and Ipswich Town before, at the behest of his rugby-mad father, he turned to the oval ball.
Cambridge-born Coles, who made his Premiership debut for Northampton against Sale last week, recalls: “I used to be a footballer but, to be honest, I didn’t like goalkeeping and didn’t have the skills to be a good enough striker, so my dad urged me to try rugby.
“He played loca...