Get three stars on every level of Angry Birds and you get to go online and look for Golden Eggs. That's what England rugby ace Ben Foden spends (some) of his time doing when he's not playing or training. Find out what else he gets up to off pitch after the jump.
Ben 'Pops' Foden earned his musical nickname for missing a day's training whilst auditioning for Pop Idol but since then he's turned his full focus to his game, both on and off the pitch. He explains "with England, I want to win a grand slam, the six nations, and do well at the World Cup". But off the pitch, Ben's competitive streak shines through, when talking about playing games on his iPhone, he couldn't help but reveal that he'd completed every level of Angry Birds with three stars.
Want to spend a day with the England rugby Team? See below for how you could get a chance to win two tickets to an England Camp training day in Surrey.
Inspired by the likes of George Griegen, Matt Dawson and Jonah Lomu, Foden didn't think he had a career in the game originally. However he cites his enjoyment of the game as being the most important thing and being selected to play for his county at a young age as a huge opportunity.
Music plays a big part in Foden's life. His dogs, for starters, are named Jackson and Bono whilst his girlfriend, Una Healy, is a singer with The Saturdays. More importantly though, music has a role in training and pre-match warm ups too, though not like you'd expect, as Ben explains.
"Dance music and up tempo stuff goes down well in the changing room. It's a genre where every one can relate to it. There's a lot of different tastes in the team. Danny Care likes a bit of current stuff but there are people who are into pop music. Ricky Flutey's into soul and R&B. In the gym we have a lot of music on to get you into the mood to work."
Match day though is a different story entirely. Not only are the team utterly focussed on the task ahead but Ben shares the belief of his team mates and tells us "the team has great prospects, victory against Wales was a great result and we've got three home games in a row now" but he also shares the level headed calmness which Austin Healey pointed out to us last week, Ben says simply "we can't be complacent". Thankfully, pre-match they all share a similar taste in pre match music – Chipmunk, stand up!
Food plays a big part in any rugby player's life and it's no different for Foden as he highlights in a run down for match day:
"I won't eat breakfast on a match day, I usually have one feed at lunch time. We usually have a pretty healthy lunch with chicken, pasta, steamed vegetables. I'll have a bit of fruit and toast. I'll usually have a big feed the night before."
Ben Foden plays rugby for the same reason we watch it – because he enjoys it. Whether winning in Australia or sharing good times with team mates. And you know, we can't blame him. As for the Golden Eggs, Foden has moved on. Alongside his hopes of a grand slam, he's also chasing victory against Chris Ashley in iMonsters (on his iPhone). Don't worry though, it's clear from speaking to Ben Foden that his eye is on the main prize. Here's hoping him and the team can pull it off.
Now though, have we got a treat in store for you. We've got one pair of tickets for a spot at the England Team training camp in Surrey this Thursday. Entering is easy, just answer the question below and email it to us at competition@o2.com with your details. One proviso though, you and a friend/colleague/countryman do need to be available on Thursday as time is tight and places are limited.
How many points did England score on Saturday against Italy?
Terms and conditions apply. We won't be stuffing your email into a database anywhere, once we've picked the winner we'll delete the rest. Tickets won't be transferrable.
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