Northampton Saints full-back Ben Foden is eager to prove his worth over the coming weeks ahead of selection for the Lions tour.
Foden's struggles with injury this season saw him miss the November internationals and then be overlooked for England's Six Nations campaign, forcing him to watch on as England crashed to a 30-3 loss against Wales.
Now fully fit, Foden has his sights on challenging for Lions selection and is desperate to impress selectors on the pitch.
"In any big game with anything riding on it and all the hype and ferocity surrounding it, those are the occasions you want to be involved in, especially international rugby because it's a grand stage to be on and big performances can change peoples' perceptions of you," said Foden to the Northampton Herald & Post.
"With Lions tours and England tours coming up, I want to be out there testing myself against some of the best players, but I didn't make selection. I'll go away, work hard at the club and make myself right in terms of my body and then put in some performances to justify my selection.
"I haven't had many injuries or operations during my career and the only one I did I bounced back fairly quickly from, so I was sort of expecting the same thing and probably came back a little bit too early.
"I went full out as soon as they said I could play again. I was doing all of the training, lifting and whatever I could do, but obviously these things need to be monitored and make sure the healing process is completed, and I didn't really do that.
"With the guys here at Northampton, they held me back from certain sessions, kept me off the high ground and did most of my fitness sessions in the gym so when the weekend comes I'm feeling one hundred percent and hopefully can perform to the best of my ability."
Comments
lawynd says...
@APV1 - don't get me started on Cockers. I respect him but find myself rarely agreeing with him.
Posted 13:29 28th March 2013
APV1 says...
@ lawynd - fair point. Yet this is the same RC who wanted England to play Flood back into form and loves having international players in his squad. Surely he's not so narrow-minded as to want players to stagnate and, therefore, hamper their international ambitions? A man of his experience would want his players to develop and gain new skills. Otherwise the Tigers' Plan B in any given match will actually just be a slight variant of Plan A.
Did that make any sense to anyone else but me?!
And Heaslip seems to be happy enough with his form, so why not MT, eh?
;-)
Posted 11:50 28th March 2013
lawynd says...
@APV1 - and that I agree with completely...but then, I'd be disappointed if any player decided that he knew everything and could stop learning!
Looking at it objectively, part of the disconnect is the way that Leicester play. Unlike Harlequins, Gloucester and to a lesser extent, Saracens, Leicester try to play off first-phase ball far more, using cut runs around Flood's channel on the gain line or a pop-pass from the ruck fringes to put players through the gaps. It only goes wide (or to the fullback) in second phase if the receiver makes a break or is able to get an offload in, as Cockerill prefers to play the percentages and recycle quick ball instead of going speculative. This means that it's an all-or-nothing situation when Manu gets the ball; he either busts the tackle and is clear, or rumbles over the gainline before going to ground. As a result, there's no real reason for him to offload or kick in Leicester's scheme.
Posted 10:05 28th March 2013
APV1 says...
@ lawynd - you're probably right about MT. Perhaps with 36 inside him, he'd fare better. But I still stand by my feeling that he needs to develop the other dimensions to his game, especially kicking. Even if his accuracy isn't always spot on, he needs to add it to his armoury - in attack and defence.
Posted 16:07 27th March 2013
lawynd says...
@APV1 - I think you're being unnecessarily harsh on Tuilagi - let's face it, after the Scotland game the backs had very little ball to work with and he and Brown were the only two getting in the right positions and offering any go-forward; I suspect his costly errors were mostly down to trying to do to much because nobody else around him was stepping up! Plus when a team is relying on ball to only one or two players, they become far easier to defend against.
Pair him with Twelvetrees, put some proper wingers and a better fullback in place (I'm not averse to Foden 11, Brown 15) and Tuilagi, plus the backs in general, will improve. Then all that's needed is a better balanced back and second row.
Posted 13:00 27th March 2013
APV1 says...
Brown doesn't have the pace for a winger, Foden does. So if SL wants to have 2 FBs on the pitch, he should have Brown at 15 and Foden on the wing. We then (desperately!) need a real flyer of a winger to compliment them. Wade. Biggs. Varndell. Etc.
I think he persisted with Goode, as he wanted another "playmaker" in the 15. Now that 36 is a real contender for a starting shirt, we can drop Goode.
Ashton was useless for the 6N, with missed tackles, poor handling skills, no kicks and little penetration. So let's stop persisting with him.
Tuilagi has been dropping in my estimation for some time. His skill set hasn't developed and he's been worked out. He needs to go away and learn to kick, pass and tackle. Until then, he's just a big basher.
Posted 10:36 27th March 2013
ben7 says...
Great player! If he had played for England during the 6 nations i'm sure that he would be in the Lions squad.
He doesn't have the greatest kicking game but his attacking game is, in my opinion, the best of any Europe fullback. On form he would be my first choice 15 for the Lions, but he hasn't played in ages so he probably won't even make the squad. He'd form an awesome back 3 with Halfpenny and North i reckon.
Posted 08:19 27th March 2013
ArmchairGeneral says...
@nhsaint: harsh on Brown who played wing all 6 nations well. But agree when Foden is back to his best.
Posted 18:38 26th March 2013
JamieTheProp says...
I hope he doesn't go to The Lions - I want him back in an England shirt in Argentina getting himself back in the groove and ready to slot into the England side - Brown at fullback and Foden on the wing - or actually pick two specialist wingers and let Foden and Brown battle it out for fullback.
Can only strengthen the England team either way.
Posted 08:03 24th March 2013
NHsaints says...
@jehsophat I wouldn't rule him out yet, he's certainly got the credentials and if he gets his usual form back he'll probably make the 3rd lions spot with Halfpenny and Hogg seeing as kearney is waaaay off at the moment and Goode was never anything special and he's much more diverse than Brown being able to play wing, fullback or scrumhalf at international level. As you say though England desperately need him back, his experience, line breaking, defence and counter attacking mindset are much needed to get England back on track.
Posted 17:19 22nd March 2013
jehosophat says...
Lions? No chance. But England need his pace and penetration, big time. He is a genuinely dangerous strike runner with pace, exactly what England have totally lacked in this Autumn/6N.
Posted 14:08 22nd March 2013