Ugo Monye lets slip ex England teammate’s strange secret to success
As far as England players go, not many have been better than Mike Brown at being able to beat the first man time and time again.
A combination of rock solid dependency under the high ball and that uncanny ability to beat the first tackler made the Leicester Tigers fullback a staple in the English back line for many years. But his former England and Harlequins teammate Ugo Monye recently shared one of the key secret’s to Brown’s success.
On Rugby Tonight this week, the BT Sports pundit revealed that Brown was the only player he knew during his career that covered their legs in Vaseline before the match. This was in response to a recent suggestion by Austin Healey that Harlequins players had Vaselined their legs.
The benefits of having slippery legs in rugby are fairly self-explanatory, but it looks as though Brown is the only player that is aware of that- or at least to Monye’s knowledge. The 37-year-old Brown might be disappointed that his former teammate let the cat out the bag while he is still playing though.
Monye said: “The only player I knew that did it was Mike Brown. He’s unbelievable at beating that first defender, but in that changing room he’d be shouting for Vaseline – which is a weird request in the changing room, but hey, everyone can do their thing – and he would rub it all down his quads. So if you could imagine, if you’re getting just outside someone and the defender’s trying to get hold, it’s quite hard to get a grip on it. It’s an absolute nightmare.”
Watch here:
“He’d be shouting for Vaseline! He’d rub it all down his quads.”
Sound familiar, @mikebrown_15? 👀😂#RugbyTonight pic.twitter.com/bNUN877Evr
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) April 23, 2023
Brown will be facing his former club this weekend at Welford Road, as Leicester will seek to send a strong message against Harlequins before heading into the Gallagher Premiership play-offs, where they will likely face Sale Sharks.
