Harlequins and England rugby union winger Ugo Monye in action (Picture: Ray Willmott)

England rugby union winger Ugo Monye on athletics

England and Harlequins rugby winger Ugo Monye is one of the world’s leading players, but as his 10.6 100m personal best reveals he was also a high class sprinter as a teenager. Monye spoke to spikesmag.com about his track and field past and why he owes a debt of thanks to track and field.

When was the first time you discovered you were fast?
UM: It would have been sports days. I went home with a few medals and everyone was noticing there was a bit of a trend. I ran the 100m and 200m and I could jump about 1.90m in the high jump and about 14.5 metres for the triple jump.

Where did you get your talent from your mum or your dad?
UM: It was my mum. My dad is about 5ft 8ins with a bit of a gut on him. My cousin, Jude Monye, ran at the Atlanta Olympics in the 400m for Nigeria and reached the quarter finals. My mum just did athletics at school but not competitively.

How important was athletics to you when your were younger?
UM: Up until my A Levels I took athletics very seriously and I ran for Windsor, Slough and Eton. My sister is a good athlete and I’ve got a keen interest. It was quite a tough decision to choose rugby but at 17 or 18 Harlequins were knocking at my door offering a contract and that was the first real hint of having a possible career in rugby.

You mentioned your sister was a good athlete. Does she still compete today?
UM: She’s only 18, a tremendous talent and definitely gunning for the 2012 Olympics. Speaking to Tony Lester [the coach of 2004 Olympic 4x100m gold medalist Marlon Devonish and World Championships 400m silver medalist Nicola Sanders] he thinks she has got the potential to be there. Chinedu [a former English Schools 200m silver medalist] is very professional for someone who is 18 and trains and works very hard.

What was your favourite personal athletics memory?
UM: It would have to be my personal best of 10.6. I was 16 or 17 and I was really pleased with that. I won the race, I think, at a Hampshire schools event. [Ugo also finished sixth in the English Schools 100m final]

You raced against the likes of 2004 Olympic 4x100m champion Mark Lewis-Francis and 2008 Olympic 100m semi-finalist Tyrone Edgar at the English Schools’ Championship. How did you get on?
UM: In any sport you always want to compete against the best and those two guys had big reputations, they still do now. Unfortunately for me, and fortunately for them, they absolutely blitzed it. We were certainly a world apart.

How significant was having a track and field base for your rugby career?
UM: One of the core skills of a winger is to run fast and without that good athletic background I would really struggle. On the track you are under a different pressure from guys either side of you and you just have to focus on your race. In rugby the skill is being able to run fast and to be technically sound while people are running to the right and left of you and trying to hurt you. To be able to have that composure and technical ability has helped me in rugby.

Would you endorse a view that anyone should try athletics?
UM: Yes, 100%. There are a lot of skills in athletics not just the physical skills but also the mental skills to get up and train in the morning in small groups or sometimes on your own. The physical and technical skills and, most importantly, the mental skills can be transferred into most sports.

How fast do you think you could run the 100m now?
UM: I’ve put on a bit of weight since my school days, strength wise and power wise. I’d like to think having put on the weight and developed in the gym I could beat my time. I’d like to back myself and say I’d be quicker.

Are you the quickest guy at Harlequins?
UM: I don’t know... we’ve got some quick boys. Dave Strettle is very sharp and so are a couple of other wingers, so there is always good competition.

Where were you when Usain Bolt broke his world 100m record in Beijing?
UM: I was at home. I was actually shopping that day and I set an alarm to make sure I could be home to watch it. He was the clear favourite and you knew something special was going to happen that day.

Is Usain the guy you respect the most in the world of sprinting?
UM: I guess so after the way be broke those world 100m and 200m records, but Michael Johnson was a big hero of mine. I liked the way he went about his sport. He was very professional. He did it quietly but he did it extremely well. He was a great credit to the sport.

Your England team-mate Danny Cipriani is also a huge athletics fan. Do you and the guys ever discuss athletics?
UM: We do, yes. He works closely with [sprint coach] Margot Wells and and sprinting is a big part of his game. It is something we talk about on a weekly basis, the technique and everything that goes with it.

***Catch Ugo Monye in action as Harlequins host Leicester Tigers at Twickenham Stadium on 27 Dec. To find out more www.thebiggame.co.uk and tickets are available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk or phone 0844 8472492.