I want that No15 shirt back for World Cup, Ben Foden warns Mike Brown
Foden, 29, ruled England’s No.15 roost between 2010 and 2012, winning the majority of his 34 caps during a two-year purple patch before injuries kicked in and a subsequent dip in form enabled Harlequins maestro Brown to swoop and take his chance.
Debate has raged over Foden’s best position for England, with pundits suggesting he should make a play for a wing spot. But the Northampton man dismisses that as rubbish and has vowed to come out fighting in the most important year of his career.
“It’s good to have on my CV that I can perform on the wing if needs be, but to me I’m an out and out full-back,” Foden told The Rugby Paper. “Jim Mallinder won’t play me on the wing, he thinks full-back’s where I play my best rugby and I do as well.
“There’s a few pundits like Stuart Barnes and Will Greenwood who say my future lies on the wing, but I couldn’t disagree more.
“I’ve had two injury-plagued seasons and BT Sport and Sky Sports are always quick to show stats of guys playing well, which Brownie topped last year, but when I’ve been fully fit and healthy I’ve been top in metres made and defenders beaten.
“I’ve always been a counter-attacking full-back so hopefully, touch wood, this year I’ll stay fully fit. I’ve had a good pre-season and feel really good in myself, so I’m raring to get back out there and show the form of old.
“It’ll be difficult getting back into the England side because guys like Brownie and Alex Goode are playing well, but you want that level of competition.
“No one wants to get relaxed when you’re playing for England, you want to make sure you’re always being tested and pushed hard for it, so it’s my job now to push Brownie. I’ll be gunning for his No.15 shirt and hopefully this season I can do that.”
Foden’s confidence is founded in the knowledge that he has been down this road before, once seeing off another rival in Delon Armitage.
He explained: “Me and Brownie are good mates, we played all through the age groups together and he’s a great player who’s worked very hard on all aspects of his game to become the full package, but it’s really all about me now.
“I’ve got to get myself right physically and mentally and get the enjoyment back in my game.
“It’s going to be my last chance to push for a World Cup spot so it’s probably the biggest season of my career ahead. This England team is really going forward with a lot of exciting players coming through and I’ve got 34 caps and don’t want it to end there.
“The way I did it last time, when Delon Armitage was playing well ahead of me, was by grabbing all the headlines for my performances away from international rugby at Franklin’s Gardens and putting a lot of pressure on him to perform.
“He had a good spell in the No.15 shirt but eventually I got my chance and took it. Brownie and Goodey have had spells of games, but we’ve all shown we can hack it at top international level and it’s a level playing field now with a World Cup starting shirt as the finishing line.
“We’ll all have our guns ready at the start of the season and may the best man win at the end of the day. We want to be pushing each other to play our best rugby and make sure England put out their best No.15 when the time comes.”
A major contributor to Northampton’s success last season was backs coach Alex King. And Foden has revealed how the former Wasps fly-half is using the disappointments of his own truncated Test career to drive others on.
“Alex had a long and successful career at Wasps, winning many things, but he was disappointed not to get more England caps,” Foden said.
“But he told me that he didn’t put the extra work in, was a little bit lazy and didn’t push himself as far as he might have done. He saw a little bit of that in me and wants to push me on and make sure he gets the very best out of me.
“Being a fly-half he understands the game and where full-backs should be, so he’s helped me out a great deal. He made a very quick impact in his first season at Saints, evolving our game so that we could contest with the best and come out on top.
“I’ll keep working closely with Alex and he always likes to get me in the office and tell me the good and bad things. He still thinks that World Cup spot is there for me and if I do get it he’ll be one of the main reasons behind it.”
Foden, meanwhile, believes Saints’ teammate Luther Burrell deserves a shot at nailing down England’s inside-centre shirt alongside Manu Tuilagi.
Gloucester’s Billy Twelvetrees, Kyle Eastmond (Bath) and Anthony Allen (Leicester) are in the frame too, but Foden reckons Burrell fits the bill.
He explained: “England played Luther at No.13, which is respect to him that he can play there, but for me he’s a No.12 and he was the best in the Premiership last year.
“With Manu at No.13 and the combinations those two can bring to the England team, it will frighten the living daylights out of other centres.
“Luther looking to work hard and has put in a good pre-season shift.
“It’s a big season for him and he’ll be looking to hit the ground running and show he wants to make that England shirt his own by terrorising defences.”
Foden has no truck with those who believes Burrell is just a basher, adding: “People misjudge Luther by thinking he’s just a ‘hit it up’ centre.
“The fact is he’s got a very good off-loading game and his Rugby League background means he understands running lines and balls out of the back.
“If he and Manu can strike up a good combination and learn each other’s games and decoy moves, it’s a pairing that can be a real force in world rugby.”
Saints relied heavily on fly-half Stephen Myler during last season’s title-winning campaign and are likely to do so again. But Foden is happy Saints have more than one option, saying: “We’ve got young Will Hooley, who’s got a very big future, and England U20s World Cup winner Sam Olver, who might need some more weight but is the full package in terms of skills.
“We’ve also got new signing Joel Hodgson and Kahn Fotuali’i, who can play at No.10, so although there’ll be a lot of pressure on Myler to play week-in, week-out, hopefully he’ll be able to take a few rests.”
NEALE HARVEY
*This article was first published in The Rugby Paper on August 24.
