The versatile Ben Lucas needs no introduction to the long-time Reds supporters. A member of the 2011 champion squad, Ben has recently spent several years playing overseas, but I am extremely happy he's back in the Reds for 2018!
I'm also glad he was able to sit down and answer some questions about his career, his rugby playing family and other things. Hope you enjoy.
(By the way... good luck to Ben and all of the players against the Waratahs this weekend! I'll be there supporting!)
First of all, congratulations on your homecoming. I’m really glad you’ve been back with the Reds this season.
Thank you! Yeah, it’s been really exciting to be back with the Reds. Not just for my footy, but for my family as well. I’ve just had twin boys. They were born in Japan, in July last year. It’s been good coming back home and being back with family. Obviously the Reds have been really good for me. Familiar faces, but also a lot of new faces and the mood with the boys has just been tremendous. The back half of the year, we haven’t got as many wins we’ve probably been a bit unlucky in a few places but the boys are still young and the feeling amongst the group has been really good for me.
Maybe you’ve answered it, but my next question was going to be this: What was it that specifically inspired you to come back for the 2018 season?
Um I wouldn’t say it was the birth of my boys, but definitely it helped having family around. I didn’t feel like I left the Reds in 2014 the way I wanted to. I still felt I had more to offer this place and the team, so that was a big part of me coming, being in a group where I felt like I could contribute and really feel a part of.
What’s been the greatest thing about being back at Ballymore this year?
It’s like home. When I was a young kid, this is where the Reds played. It’s still my favourite place to play at. So to get to train here is pretty special… Obviously, there’s a few changes. Back when I left, we were doing gym over here, they had a newly constructed gym over here, but Thorny likes the old-school feel a bit better, so we’ve gone back to the old tin shed. There’s a lot of memories there for me because my first training programs were here!
What did you enjoy most about your time playing rugby both in France and Japan?
I guess meeting new people. Here, you know your guys, here and in the other Aussie teams. But when you go overseas, you’re all in the same boat together… You’re away from home, you’re looking for people to make you more comfortable and you need that support network. You get to meet some great people that you wouldn’t have met normally and make life-long friends. Rugby in general is great for meeting people and developing life-long mate-ship is really good, that’s something that I really enjoyed.
You learn different ways to play rugby too. Over in France, they’re very “set-piece” orientated, you know the forwards are very big and strong, scrums are a huge emphasis as well. Weather- wise, you learn to play in different conditions. When the weathers not good, you can’t play the way you’d sometimes like to, you’ve got to manage the game in other ways. That’s something I picked up over there.
Are there any other ways that playing for other clubs in other countries has helped your game specifically?
I guess kicking, that’s a big one. Being a goal kicker, I had a couple of good years over in France, I kicked at 85 percent one year and 82 the next and that’s something you need to work on. They put a lot of work into their kicking and not just goal-kicking, but general kicking. That was something I enjoyed, working with guys who had different perspectives and techniques for learning.
You come from a family of rugby players. How does it feel watching all of your brothers grow up playing rugby?
Just proud. As much as we’re all competitive, we love seeing each other do well. From backyard footy… (laughs) every day, we we’d come home from school, take the school clothes off, wack the civies on and just play in the front yard… we’d turn the sprinkler so we could pretend it’s raining. So to come from that and to see my brothers grow… I’m the oldest, so I feel a lot of pride in showing them how I’ve done it and they can learn from my mistakes, but they also make their own path, their own careers and make their own decisions. So it’s good to watch them grow, as rugby players, but also as humans.
As you know, I recently did a profile on your club, Sunnybank! What are a few things that make Sunnybank a great club to play for?
Obviously, I’m a very loyal guy, I’ve always played and loved being there! There’s a lot of guys that have played together right through juniors, there’s a big culture of that at Sunnybank. They’ve always had a culture of being very tight-knit. Beyond the football field, we’re very close friends. They’ve been very good to me in terms of things like organising uni along the way as well. I think Sunnybank is sometimes misunderstood, because we do have a lot of islander players down there, but we’re all very close. You go there and you can sit down and have a chat with anyone. It’s a very family friendly club and that’s something that’s always appealed to me about Sunnybank.
What advice would you give to aspiring players, both girls and boys?
I think, if it’s really what you want to do, it’s like anything, you’ve got to work hard. There’s gonna be good times and not so good times, but it’s all about keeping a positive mindset and understanding where you want to go and what your aspirations are. If it is to play for Queensland, I would say - hard work is something in common with any profession. Anyone that does well has got a good work ethic. You’re giving yourself the best chance to follow your dreams. And especially as young kid, I really wanted to play rugby, I really loved rugby and I worked hard. There were times when all my friends would be going out and having drinks and doing all that stuff and I couldn’t because I had training the next morning and whatever. There were sacrifices, but it was all worth it for me, I was willing to work hard to get where I wanted to get to.
Can you tell us something about yourself that not may people may know?
Hmmm… that’s a tricky one Tommy… Not a lot of people outside my close friend-ship network would know that I really love food - I consider myself a bit of a foody. I love to cook, I love to go to nice restaurants and try new food. I love to try new things that I’ve seen somewhere and try to cook it myself, that sort of thing!
Thank you very much for your time.
My pleasure Tommy.
Best of luck for the game this Saturday!
We’ll need you cheering loud mate! We’re coming home. I think they want to get a big crowd this week, so hopefully we can get the loyal fans out and give them a shake-down.
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