Eighteen hours after Ben Foden had scored a wonderful try for England at the Stade de France to raise English hopes against France in last Saturday night's RBS Six Nations finale, he sat at home with his girlfriend Una Healy and unleashed a torrent of friendly abuse at his Northampton and England teammate, Chris Ashton.
Una, who forms a fifth of the successful all-girl pop group, "The Saturdays," had fetched a Chinese meal for the three of them to eat as they re-lived the previous night's action in Paris courtesy of a recording of the match, and at the moment when Ashton saw his botched attempt to score what would have been a winning try for England in the second half, Foden was quick to pile on the misery.
The most prolific try scorer in England has been scoring for fun all season but when, on his debut, he was faced with just the French full back to beat, and teammates near enough to off-load, he chose to chip the ball out of play instead.
"Ash had his head in his hands when he watched it again in my living room," Foden explained. "He just went: "Oh Jeez, what went through my head." I would have backed him to have scored himself because Ash has the ability to move up the gears and the full back wouldn't have got near him. Failing that, he would have taken out the full back and passed. It was a rush of blood. I had a go at him at the time, and I had another go at him in my living room on Sunday afternoon. He's such a good player he can take it and I can guarantee he'll never do that again."
On the plus side, of course, it was Ashton's instant pass in the 5th minute that gave his teammate and England roommate the space to score a try in the corner. "It was a great move in general down the backs line, and it was precisely what we'd set out to do, but there's no doubt that Ash showed what great hands he has when he got the ball to me in a split second. After that all I had to do was finish the job. I'll give him credit for that."
One way or another Foden and Ashton's week had been inexporably linked from the moment they heard the previous Tuesday that both would be starting for an England team with a back three shaken up after their drab draw the previous week in the Calcutta Cup. "Brian Smith pulled us aside before training that morning to give us the good news, although I pretty much knew about my selection because Delon Armitage had told me he was out of the squad the night before, making a point of shaking my hand, congratulating me and wishing me good luck.
"That's typical of Delon. We're great rivals but we also appreciate how we push each other to be better, and there's no doubt that England will be needing two top full backs between now and the World Cup. It could have been an awkward moment but it wasn't because we both knew I deserved my chance on the basis of what had taken place in the previous two games when I'd come off the bench and felt I did well. Besides, Delon is a quality player so he will definitely get back to his best soon."
All week Foden and Ashton talked about the French challenge in their rooms at their Bagshot and Paris hotels. "Chris was told initially he wouldn't be picked with me because it would mean having two inexperienced players in the back three but after the Scotland game there was an obvious change in this view. With Chris being an out and out winger it will never be a bench spot for him. It's start or nothing. We talked about the small stature of the French wingers, and how vulnerable we felt they could be to the counter. Most of all, though, we just egged each other on. Even as we turned our light out on Friday, the night before the game, I was telling Ash that he'd come into the England side with a big reputation as a try scorer, so he'd better score a try at the Stade de France. Ironically he ended up being the provider and I the try-scorer."
On the morning of the game Foden kicked his excitable roomate out so that he could watch the DVD of the Oscar-winning film "Hurt Locker" before a midday nap. Later, in the Stade de France dressing room, Mark Cueto reminded Foden of the last time the Sale winger had sat there. "World Cup final, 2007," said Cueto. "We lost, and I scored the try that wasn't."
Ironically, Foden would score an almost identical try in the same corner after five minutes. "I thought about checking inside and going for under the posts for a split-second then decided to make sure with a low dive in the corner. It was a moment of euphoria and something I'd always dreamt of, but then it was straight back to concentrating on the game.
Foden's initial emotions when the final whistle blew and England had lost 12-10 to the Grand Slam champions was disappointment. "It wasn't just the ref's decisions concerning our scrum that did for us," he insisted. "It was the rain. That stopped us from playing the exciting, attacking game we hinted at the start. The ball became too slippery to play a wide game. I was gutted at the end but I soon perked up when everyone told me I'd played well and we left the stadium knowing we should have won."
Having driven Ashton back from the airport Foden's mood improved even more as he and his teammate watched Northampton beat Gloucester to win the LV Cup in their absence, and with a Heineken Cup quarter-final away to Munster on Saturday week looming, and an almost certain Guinness Premeirship semi-final play off as well, there is much to look forward to over the ensuing weeks.
But already Australia is in Foden's thoughts. "I've never been there, let alone played there, and I'd love to be part of the England squad for the tour in June. Two tests away to the Wallabies sounds like a tough ask but after the way we took on the French we all feel we can do a job down there. The Six Nations may not have been the best for England, but we've finished on a high in defeat, and we mean to take this performance forward in Australia."
