Ben Foden offers training tips to one of the University of Essex's rugby players

Students from the University of Essex’s rugby team enjoyed the experience of a lifetime when they were joined for a training session by England rugby superstar, Ben Foden.

Following an unbeaten season in the national Universities league last year, the University of Essex team spotted the opportunity to work with Ben in a national competition run by Multipower Sportsfood.

The competition was based on securing online votes and the team worked with the SU to gather votes from students, receiving an overwhelming response that propelled them to victory despite stiff competition from rugby clubs across the UK.

“This is a great advertisement for rugby at Essex and a rare opportunity to learn from one of England's highest profile stars” said Keir Waller, Communications Officer for the Men’s Rugby team. “The team prides itself on its passion and strong work ethic and so a training session with Ben is a sensational way of kicking off the season – we hope his cutting edge drills and techniques could be the crucial spark for us”.

The Men’s rugby team is one of 57 sports clubs run by the SU across the three University of Essex campuses, with this year’s collective membership already totalling over 1,650 students.

Ben Foden training rugby players at the University of Essex