Tap and Go caught up with England new boy Ugo Monye after his debut against the Pacific Islands to see what it felt like to be walking on cloud nine

Ugo, good result to kick off the autumn and your England career.
Yeah we’ve worked hard the last few weeks and it’s just good to see that come to fruition today against a very strong Pacific Islands team.

You had such a nasty back injury last season – you must have thought this day was never going to come?
It was a very difficult time for me but I’ve worked extremely hard to get where I am now and I’m just so thankful for everyone who helped me along the way. Days like this kept me going during those hard times. Everyone has pipedreams and it was important to have hope and keep believing this was possible. To be out there in an England shirt made me such a proud man.

Everyone was impressed with the way the back three worked with you, Paul Sackey and Delon Armitage
The biggest thing is communication. Off the pitch we’re all friends. I’ve known Delon for a few years now and it’s the same with Paul Sackey too. We get on extremely well and know each others’ games. We know what the coaches want and it came off well today.

It looked like you were all keen to have a run from deep and it paid dividends when you burned off a couple of defenders for Danny Cipriani’s try
You can’t be afraid of trying things off on the pitch. We want to have a go and we’ve got an extremely talented bunch of players to do that. The coaches have given us a licence to go out and play.

How did you find the step up to international level?
It felt comfortable. I’ve been preparing for this moment for the last eight years so I was ready for it. Everyone made my job easier. It was a good debut, I’m pleased with how I played, but I’m more pleased with how the team did.

Any nerves before the game?
I thought I might be a bag of nerves but as soon as the whistle went all that went away.

Was there anyone in particular who helped settle you down this week?
People have been wishing me the best all week. Dave Strettle sent me one of the most heart felt text messages I’ve ever had yesterday. He said ‘you don’t get the opportunity to play for England unless you really deserve it and to just go out and be yourself’. He’s a great friend of mine and I’m thankful for that kind of support.

You’ve just been running around Twickenham, but we could have been watching you legging it round the Bird’s Nest last summer if things had turned out differently
I had an opportunity where I could have gone into sprinting but I’m glad I chose to stay at Harlequins because I’ve just represented my country, and it doesn’t get better than that does it? I’m happy to be part of an exiting England team with so much potential. I probably would have embarrassed myself if I’d have gone to the Olympics anyway, because those guys have taken sprinting to another level anyway!