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As he relaxes on a leather sofa in Sedbergh School’s rugby pavilion and reflects on a colourful 17-year professional career, Carl Fearns can’t help but be reminded of his alma mater’s sporting pedigree.
The names of all the players to have represented Sedbergh’s first XV are listed on the walls of the pavilion.
Fearns’ is among them, alongside a host of other household figures and Sedbergh alumni which include former England centres Will Carling and Will Greenwood. The international shirts of those ex-pupils who made the highest grade at various ages are hung from the walls.
Freshly retired, the 34-year-old Fearns has just finished taking the Mail on Sunday on a tour of his old school.He then sits down to recall the good, the bad and the ugly of his time in the sport he loves.
Fearns certainly has some stories to tell. Over the course of the afternoon he recalls the time he infamously knocked out Gavin Henson in a Bath nightclub and when he accidently set himself on fire following a drinking session in Lyon.
Carl Fearns reflected on his alma mater's sporting pedigree as he returned to his former school
The 34-year-old is one of a number of Sedbergh alums who forged successful careers in sport
He discusses Eddie Jones calling him a ‘whinger’ and ‘moaner’. Fearns reveals he played for England at Twickenham just a few days after returning from a holiday to Magaluf and relives another brawl involving a member of the Tuilagi family.
‘I’ve always been a straight shooter down the years,’ Fearns says. ‘Sometimes it’s got me in a bit of trouble! But I’m unbelievably proud of what I achieved in rugby.
‘I love the sport. It's opened doors for me that would never have been opened otherwise. I’d never have had the opportunity to come to a place like Sedbergh if I hadn’t played rugby. I started at 11 as a shy, dyslexic kid from Liverpool. Rugby gave me confidence and lifelong friendships.
‘It's given me everything. I know the sport has its problems at the moment with head injuries, but for people to compare it to child abuse is hugely upsetting to me.
‘We can’t forget the good rugby can do for people. We have to protect it.’ A tough and uncompromising back-rower, Fearns never took a backward step on the field.
He excelled on English club duty with Sale, Bath and Newcastle but played his best rugby with Lyon.
Fearns was recognised for his talent from an early age and represented England at youth level
England internationals swapping the Gallagher Premiership for France’s TOP14 is now a regular occurrence, but when Fearns left Bath for Lyon in 2015 he was an anomaly.
Fearns excelled in France, helping his new team to promotion from the country’s second division after recovering from a dramatic incident which nearly threatened to derail his Gallic adventure before it had even begun.
‘Now there’s a story,’ Fearns says with a smile.
‘We had a pre-season camp and on the last day we went on a bike ride three hours into a forest. The lads set up camp and built a fire because we were going to cook a big pig on it.
‘I ended up drinking a whole bottle of gin. When I stood up, I tripped over one of the branches and fell into the middle of the fire. I’d drunk that much gin I had to be pulled out.
‘Our full-back at the time sat me in the river in the middle of this forest while we waited for the ambulance. I had burns down my right side. It was awful.
‘When I got in the ambulance, Pierre Mignoni the head coach was there. He asked if I was going to be playing next week! I was panicking a bit thinking Lyon might sack me. They were very patient.’
After beginning his career with Sale, Fearns spent four years with Bath before making the move to France
Fearns is a rugby throwback in many ways, a player who came through a professional environment but who was never afraid to take the opportunities sport can provide. The camp fire incident, combined with his brilliant performances, saw him nicknamed ‘The Inferno’ in Lyon.
‘If you asked most rugby fans about me, the first thing they’d probably say is the incident with Gav and not what I achieved,’ Fearns says, sitting below a picture of him in Sedbergh colours.
‘It’s not great if that’s the only thing you’re remembered for to be honest but at the end of the day, I don’t have any regrets.’
Fearns quips he had a little more hair back in the day when he was captain of what was statistically Sedbergh’s best ever
