>> Fearns back to add muscle to the Falcons
HE SET the world alight and even himself in France and now Carl Fearns is hoping to reignite Newcastle’s season.
The aggressive ball-carrying No.8 has signed for the Falcons after six years overseas, primarily at Lyon and latterly Rouen, and admits he has a higher profile across the Channel than in the UK.
The 31-year-old Liverpudlian could have seen out his career going through the motions in Pro D2 but is keen to remind Premiership fans what he is about.
“I’ve been here for a while doing rehab and I’m back in full training now,” he said. “I want to get back to the level I was before injury (left hamstring) at Lyon. I want to be in an environment to be able to do that.
“I could probably just have stayed in France, finished my career there and maybe not had to work as hard. But I want to come back and push myself. My profile in France is a lot bigger than over here so yeah, it’s a little bit of showing what I’m about.”
Fearns’ last appearance in English rugby was for Bath in the 2015 Premiership final defeat to Saracens.
With his family living in nearby Consett, Newcastle was always seen as a good fit and he held his first talks with Dean Richards last season, before his move from Lyon to Rouen.
“It came about in my last year at Lyon,” Fearns explained. “I wanted a bit of a change and was looking around for a club but then Covid came and there were a lot of people without clubs, pay cuts happening and budget cuts. I had a little bit of a chat then with Falcons but the situation was difficult so it didn’t materialise.
“Luckily, Rouen came up, gave me a chance to keep playing and Dean, below, liked what I was doing there and gave me the opportunity.
“We bought a house in the area a year ago and the kids are all settled in school. So it is the perfect move at a top-flight Premiership club.”
Fearns’ form in France was so good there was even talk of him playing for the French national team, however a brief replacement appearance for England Saxons in a Churchill Cup final against Canada put paid to that.
The no-nonsense back rower was also seen as a viable rival for Billy Vunipola’s position at the back of the England pack, touring South Africa with the senior team under Stuart Lancaster, only to be overlooked – and then later catching the eye of Eddie Jones.
Lancaster’s decision not to go with Fearns prompted his move from Bath to Lyon, not the Sam Burgess fallout, he insists.
“It didn’t have anything to do with Sam. I was involved in 20plus games at Bath, it was more the England thing. I went on tour to South Africa, played in the midweek, I played alright and Stuart Lancaster picked out me and Jonny May as two of the standout players in midweek.
“When the next squads were announced, I wasn’t in any of them, and I thought ‘alright, I’ve had ten years here, let’s do something different.’
Fearns loved his time in France, relishing the extra responsibility that Lyon placed on his broad shoulders, but it is fair to say his new venture did not get off to the best of starts.
“I had an interesting first week. The first day I crashed my car, then we went on a pre-season camp, worked hard, and had a social, and made this big fire. I had too much to drink, fell over and landed in the middle of the fire and I ended up getting thrown in an ambulance and didn’t play for two-anda-half months. I thought they would rip my contract up then.”
Lyon’s understanding owner was repaid with some stellar performances but three years later Fearns came close to signing for Gloucester, to make himself eligible for England selection. He agreed to a three-year deal with the Cherry & Whites, starting from the 2017/18 season, only to do an aboutturn and remain in France.
“Every rugby player wants to play international rugby,” Fearns says. “Growing up I went through all the age grades for England so that was an ambition.
“At that time I was coming back to give Billy a run for his money in my head. I was coming back to give it a real good shot.
“In my head, if I carried on playing the way I was there was a big opportunity to get the cap I hadn’t had.
“I then made the decision not to come back. I was playing my best rugby over there and was enjoying life in France.
“I felt that was the right decision at the end of the day. When I did say I was coming back, I was only coming back for England and I realised that was wrong. This time I’ve come back to play good rugby and enjoy it.”