Since injuring his foot in September, ruling him out of the upcoming Autumn Internationals, Ugo Monye has shown a sartorial flair for fashion design revealed at the launch of Eden Park’s partnership deal with the Rugby Football Union.
The flying England international wing assisted former France fly-half Franck Mesnel’s clothing company in kitting out head coach Martin Johnson, his staff and players. In between parading the silky, silver suit to the watching press under the gaze of the flamboyant Frenchman and the watchful glare of his boss, Ugo took time out to speak to Sport.co.uk.
The 25-year-old made his England test debut against the Pacific Islanders at Twickenham in 2008 in what was also Johnson’s first match in charge of the national side. They won 39-13 and Monye has featured in Johno’s squads consistently ever since.
Promptly before the celebratory drinks began to flow at the Kensington Roof Gardens launch we asked the Harlequins star about how team spirit is inside Johno’s camp, how dangerous the All Blacks are looking 12 months ahead of the World Cup in New Zealand and, crucially, who has the prettiest singing voice among his England teammates.
Ugo, we can’t help notice that for all your smart apparel being shown off tonight you are lacking one polished and pristine Eden Park right lace up...we gather you’re injured. How is your recovery going?
The [recovery for the] injury is going really well, probably a bit ahead of time at the moment which is fantastic. I won’t be back playing until December but you have got to be patient with these things to make sure it doesn’t reoccur and make sure once I’m back I’m playing at my best.
I’ve been doing most of my recovery work down the Surrey Sports Park. I’ve been doing some swimming, and let me tell you, for a black guy that hasn’t been easy!
How frustrated are you that you’ll be missing all the Investec Autumn Internationals against the best the southern hemisphere has to offer?
It’s incredibly frustrating but every injury gives you the opportunity to focus on something which you haven’t been able to do. The good thing for me is that come the end of the season I’ll be fresh because I’m missing a fair chunk. I’ll be supporting the guys in the November series and hopefully they will go really well.
You burst onto the scene as a flying, dynamic winger but over the past couple of seasons with Quins you have occasionally been filling in at full-back. Where do you see your main position?
Certainly on the wing. I’ve played a bit of outside centre too and I also really enjoyed that defensive responsibility. Yet it gives you that appreciation for being back out on the wing. I’ve won all but two caps for England on the wing and I certainly see myself going forward there as well.
Your absence in November provides an opportunity for others to stake a claim. There are some exciting wingers lighting up the Aviva Premiership currently. Who do you see as your main competition?
Guys like Chris Ashton who had a fantastic summer and great last season. Mark Cueto has always been there and he’s another quality player. There is so much strength in depth with the likes of David Strettle and Matt Banahan, you’ve got guys in the Premiership playing week-in-week-out and in the Saxons squad. There is certainly not a shortage of back three players which is great for England.
Along with Danny Care you contributed some personal touches to the design of this bespoke Eden Park suit being shown off tonight. The inner breast of each individual player’s jacket has the date of their first cap stitched in red embroidery. This undoubtedly brings back vivid memories. When you won your first cap how was the initiation?
It was fairly messy. You have to have a drink with every player that played that day and then you get all the old international players as well who get involved like Jason Leonard, Richard Hill who give you a large glass of wine and expect you to neck it in one. You then get on the coach and you have to sing in front of the whole squad. Mine was Will Smith’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It didn’t go down well, got heckled but that’s exactly what you expect. I knew all the words and tried to get all the guys to sing along and they’re there to give you a hard time and they certainly did.
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Suited and booted...well not Ugo, he's injured.
Any other memorable debut performances?
Ben Foden. He can sing, he actually can sing. So opposed to people heckling him I think he brought a few tears to peoples’ eyes. He can sing like an angel. I don’t remember what he sang but I just remember it being very good. Give him a mic and he’ll always want to sing.
What is your relationship with Martin Johnson? Would he be getting involved with those antics or does he keep himself separate from the players?
There is a lot of interaction. With Johno on the pitch if he could put his boots on and play he certainly would. I think he really misses it and he loves it but he’s doing a great job of managing the guys around the camp. He’s there to support and help out and answer questions if we ever need that. The players get on really well. He spoke about a really good team spirit and that’s what I feel we are developing. It will only get better for us.
How about the opposition? New Zealand have been in devastating form in the Tri-Nations. How do you think they are looking ahead of the World Cup over there next year?
They are number one team in the world for a reason. They have shown great consistency and that’s another thing Johno spoke about. They won the Tri-Nations and you don’t do that by fluke but for us we’ve shown we can go to the southern hemisphere and win big games. We had a great second test against Australia and that gave us a lot of confidence. Hopefully we can back up those performances come November.
This week the classy Scottish full-back and former British and Irish Lions tourist Andy Irvine has been announced as manager for the Lion’s 2013 trip to Australia. What do you think of his appointment?
He’s a legend. Anyone with his reputation in the game has to be respected.
Final question. At Sport.co.uk we pride ourselves on our strength and fitness. We’ve heard you can defy physics and do one-arm pull-ups? True or false?
(Looking suddenly uncomfortable...) Yeah, it’s true.
Both arms?
Both arms yeah.