As he relaxes on a leather sofa in the Sedbergh School rugby pavilion and reflects on a colorful 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 who represented Sedbergh’s first XV are listed on the walls of the pavilion.
Fearns’ is one of them, alongside a host of other housemates and Sedbergh alumni, including former England centers Will Carling and Will Greenwood. On the wall hang the international shirts of former students who achieved the highest grades at different ages.
Fearns, 34, has recently retired and has just taken the Mail on Sunday for a tour of his old school. He then sits down to remember the good, the bad and the ugly of his time in the sport he loves.
Fearns certainly has some stories to tell. During the afternoon he recalls the time he infamously knocked out Gavin Henson in a Bath nightclub and when he accidentally set himself on fire after a drinking session in Lyon.
Carl Fearns reflected on his alma mater’s sporting heritage as he returned to his former school
The 34-year-old is one of many Sedbergh alumni who have forged successful careers in the sport
He discusses Eddie Jones calling him a “whiner” and “moaner.” Fearns reveals he was playing for England at Twickenham just days after returning from a holiday in Magaluf and relives a brawl involving a member of the Tuilagi family.
“I’ve always been a straight shooter over the years,” Fearns said. ‘Sometimes it gets me in a bit of trouble! But I am incredibly proud of what I have achieved in rugby.
‘I love the sport. It has opened doors for me that otherwise would never have opened. If I hadn’t played rugby I would never have had the opportunity to come to a place like Sedbergh. I started at the age of 11 as a shy, dyslexic kid from Liverpool. Rugby gave me confidence and lifelong friendships.
‘It gave me everything. I know the sport currently has problems with head injuries, but when people compare it to child abuse, I find it extremely disturbing.
‘We cannot forget the good that rugby can do for people. We have to protect it.’ A tough and uncompromising back-rower, Fearns has never taken a step back on the field.
He excelled in England club service at Sale, Bath and Newcastle, but played his best rugby at Lyon.
Fearns was recognized for his talent from an early age and represented England at youth level
England internationals swapping the Gallagher Premiership for the French TOP14 are 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 that almost threatened to derail his Gallic adventure before it had even begun.
“Now there’s a story,” Fearns says, smiling.
‘We had a pre-season camp and the last day we went cycling for three hours into the forest. The boys 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. As I stood up, I tripped over one of the branches and fell into the middle of the fire. I had drunk so much gin that I had to get out.
‘Our full-back at the time put me in the river in the middle of this forest while we waited for the ambulance. I had burns on my right side. It was horrible.
“When I got into the ambulance, Pierre Mignoni, the head coach, was there. He asked if I was going to play next week! I panicked a bit because I thought Lyon was going to fire me. They were very patient.”
After starting his career at Sale, Fearns spent four years at Bath before making the move to France
Fearns is in many ways a rugby legacy, a player who came through a professional environment but who was never afraid to take the opportunities the sport can offer. The campfire incident, combined with his brilliant performances, earned him the nickname ‘The Inferno’ in Lyon.
“If you asked most rugby fans about me, the first thing they would probably say is the Gav incident and not what I achieved,” says Fearns, sitting beneath a photo of him in Sedbergh colours.
“It’s not great if that’s the only thing you’re reminded of, to be honest, but at the end of the day I don’t regret it.”
Fearns jokes that he had a bit more hair when he captained what was statistically Sedbergh’s best ever first XV. Fears never lost their colors.
He continues: “There are things I wanted to achieve and didn’t, but when I was 11 I said I was going to be a professional rugby player and I did that. So for me that’s enough.’
Fearns left Bath for Lyon after playing for them in a Premier League final defeat to Saracens and just two years after the Henson incident at Bath’s The Pig & Fiddle.
“I showed up late but the guys had been drinking at The Rec pavilion for a long time,” says Fearns. ‘The boys were already egging Gav on. They wanted to see “Super Gav,” which was the nickname for his alter ego when he had a few. We went to a few bars and Gav turned over the table of a couple who were eating in the corner. Stuart Hooper took him outside.
His time at Top 14 side Lyon denied him an England call-up, but Fearns did get the chance to represent his country in an international against Barbarians in 2012.
‘Paul James was very annoyed at having vouched for Gav as he knew him from Wales. There was a lot of drinking involved.
“Gav came back and had plenty to say and what happened, happened. I went home and told my now wife it was going to blow up and it did! My wife told me well.’
Taking a trip down memory lane, Fearns adds: “I had the opportunity to play against the Barbarians in England in 2012. I was hesitant to grab it as I had just returned from a holiday to Magaluf!
‘I went because I didn’t know I would be chosen. The day after I got back I got a call from Stuart Lancaster asking me to come in. He said Calum Clark would start and I would be on the bench.
“Clark then got injured, so I started. I wasn’t in the best shape and wasn’t playing my best game. I got a yellow card. That probably set me back in terms of the England squad.
“Going out with Andy Tuilagi was another one that got me into trouble. I played with him at Sale. We were in Manchester. I went to the toilet in this club and when I came back it was chaos.
‘Students had their phones thrown into the canal. I have no idea what it started with, but there were people getting kicked in the face by bouncers.
“I looked to find Andy and he was being abused by about ten of them. I went there to help him. In the end we were quite full. There was an article in The Sun that said we were knocking out bouncers like Neo from The Matrix, but that wasn’t the case. To be honest, we were the ones who got battered!’
Fearns considered leaving Lyon for Glouster, but ultimately opted to stay on the continent
England’s 2012 match against the Barbarians was uncapped, so Fearns never officially represented his country. He certainly deserved this honour, but was not considered for Test selection while tearing up trees with Lyon. The RFU’s controversial selection policy means players who want to represent England must be employed by Premier League clubs. Fearns was close to leaving Lyon for Gloucester.
But eventually he made a new three-year French deal to repay Mignoni’s faith and secure a stable financial foundation for his family. Former England head coach Jones had shown genuine interest in Fearns, but the pair could not agree on a phone call and the player remained in Europe. Fearns took issue with Jones’ view of him.
“I wouldn’t change a thing,” he says. “I’m sure some people will say I’ve made some big club decisions and question that. I had agreed to sign for Gloucester and I was ready to return to England to fight for a Test spot. But that wasn’t guaranteed and Lyon’s contract was.
‘I had to think about my family in the long term. For me it’s a silly rule anyway, because you should be allowed to play for England if you play in France. I went there and became the player I was twice.”
Fearns remained at Lyon until 2020 before enjoying a strong spell at Newcastle via Rouen and settling in the North East with his wife – who is from the region – and four children.
He was disappointed with the way his departure from the Falcons was handled last year and after a short spell with Carcassonne in France, Fearns retired in December.
In 2021 he returned to the Premier League, joining Newcastle, where he has built a life for his family
Many players struggle to adapt to life after rugby. But Fearns has moved on seamlessly. He now works as a business development manager for Fusion For Business.
His primary focus is on advising sports clubs, including those in rugby, on how to reduce their energy bills in a difficult economic climate. Fearns would like to give something back to the sport that has given him so much.
“There was a lot of talk about me leaving Bath because Sam Burgess came in,” says Fearns, who now sits in Sedbergh’s first XV spit-and-sawdust dressing room, which remains unchanged from his days at school.
‘But that wasn’t the case at all. I’ve had a lot of setbacks in my career and I can understand why people wondered why I moved to the French second division.
‘But I had to make that leap and I’m glad I did. I feel very lucky to have made my dream come true.”