Foden revelling role as wandering star

Ben Foden joined Northampton to further his ambitions as a future England scrum-half, and Saints had said they would play him as a scrum-half.

Of the 16 matches in which he has played in all competitions so far this season, the 23-year-old Foden (right) has started in the No 9 jersey just seven times, replacing the in-form Lee Dickson in a further five matches.

Other than that he has started at full-back three times and has replaced the outside-centre Jon Clarke once. It hardly seems the right way to go about letting the England manager, Martin Johnson, and his co-selectors know that Foden is a genuine contender alongside the likes of the incumbent Danny Care and his main rivals Harry Ellis and Paul Hodgson.

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Jim Mallinder, Northampton's director of rugby, does not seem to mind where Foden plays. He said: "Ben is an exciting player and offers something completely different whether at full-back or scrum-half. He's got a big future.

"Austin Healey was very successful, playing for England and won lots of caps with Leicester. I think if Ben can be as good a player as Healey, if not better, then I think he should be happy playing in both positions."

So much for Foden's singlemindedness. But even after scoring a scorching try, from full-back, to complete the rout of Bristol at Franklin's Gardens on Saturday and keep the West Country side at the bottom of the Premiership table, Foden did not seem too unhappy with the state of things.

"My main focus is still to be nine. I spoke to Jim [Mallinder] at the beginning of the week and told him that was my main aim and he said he still regards me as a nine.

"The main thing is to keep performing well and someone will take notice. I spoke to Brian Smith before the autumn internationals and I think they always have someone in the stands watching. I saw Graham Rowntree before this match.

"To persuade Martin Johnson to pick you a player has to be at the top of their game because competition is very high in certain positions.

"The main aim is to help Northampton to win and if I can do that from both positions then I am doing what is wanted."

He certainly helped Saints march out of the relegation reckoning, simultaneously turning the screw on Bristol. Their head coach Richard Hill admitted: "I am getting fed up with losing every week. Everyone is hacked off with it. We can survive from here, but on that performance we are going to struggle. We have to play better at some stage. We have been playing to about 50 per cent of our potential this year. Until we get to where we know we can be it is going to be a very worrying second half of the season."

Northampton: Tries Diggin, Foden, Clarke; Conversions Myler 3; Penalties Myler 3. Bristol: Try Lemi; Penalty Barnes.

Northampton: B Foden; P Diggin (C Mayor, 80), J Clarke, J Downey (C Spencer, 78), S Lamont; S Myler, L Dickson (B Reihana, 80); S Tonga'uhia, D Hartley, E Murray, I Fernandez-Lobbe (capt; (C Day, 78), J Kruger, M Easter, S Gray, R Wilson.

Bristol: L Arscott; L Robinson, Neil Brew, L Eves (Nathan Brew, 62), D Lemi; E Barnes, S Perry (capt;); M Irish, M Regan (S Linklater, 67), D Crompton (W Thompson, 77), R Winters (M Sambucetti, 62), R Sidoli (M Salter, 72), N Budgett, A To'oala, D Ward-Smith.

Referee: T Wigglesworth