Hello Ben, how are you doing? Not too bad cheers, how are you?

Very good, ta. OK, first things first. You've been nicknamed Pop Idol after claiming to have appeared on the show, yet your father says you actually missed your audition because you'd had too many drinks the night before … It's all clouded in mystery [laughing]. I've been trying to shake the Pop Idol name off me for many years now, but it seems to stick with me wherever I go. There's only a handful of people that know the truth and I'm going to keep it that way.

We also know that in your younger years you were in a band named Anonymous. We've looked on the internet and the only band we could find by that name represented Andorra in the 2007 Eurovision song contest ... [Guffawing] Well I can assure you it wasn't me or my band who represented Andorra. But it is true that I was in a band called Anonymous when I was younger. It lasted for about four or five years and we used to do quite a lot of small gigs but most of it was pushed by our parents. We did record two CDs. One was just for us, and the other was released on a small magazine, which gave it out as a freebie – trying to promote recording studios somewhere in London.

What kind of music was it? We used to do a lot of cover versions – Breakfast at Tiffany's and that sort of thing. And before you ask, no, you can't have a rendition.

Bah. When Small Talk spoke to Danny Care recently he told us he would like to appear on Celebrity X-Factor and sing a Backstreet Boys song … [Laughing heartily] I think I might have been the one who put the idea in Danny's head. When we were in Ireland we actually met Louis Walsh and Danny tried to put the idea to him then as well. Sadly I don't think there's any Celebrity X-factor planned this year.

But it would be a team effort? Oh, I think so, yeah. Me, Danny and maybe we'd rope in someone like Nick Abendanon from Bath, who likes to play himself as a bit of a rapper [chuckles]. We'd have a nice little band. Maybe we could leave the rugby and go start a new career …

You are currently dating a pop star – Una Healy of The Saturdays - do you guys sing together? Between this Pop Idol name and me and Una being together I get a lot of stick from all the boys at the club. Being honest, I do sing quite a lot at home and she does sing along, but I'm never going to be quite at her level.

Is there any truth in the story that you just saw her on telly and decided you wanted to go out with her? [Laughs] Well, to a certain extent, yeah, but it wasn't quite as simple as that. Someone asked me whether I was single or not, so I replied 'yes', and they asked me whether there was anyone I was interested in. I mentioned Una, and by some crazy coincidence they actually could get in touch with her people and put me in contact with her.

It has to be a bit strange chatting someone up through your agents ... [More laughter] Yeah, I suppose. But the thing is, I would never get to meet her otherwise. I took a chance and luckily for us we hit it off. I'm pretty chuffed that I made the phone call now.

Sale Sharks coach Philippe Saint-André once said of you: "If he's not a full-back I'll eat my French beret" - does he actually have a French beret? I'm sure he will, being a typical Frenchman. I'm sure he's got a few kicking around in his wardrobe.

Do you intend to make him follow through on such a statement? It's been quite a learning curve for me this year, I've been playing a lot at No15 again, and after talking to the coaching staff and other people who influence my career I have been turning towards that position. But I also have a focus on the No9 shirt as well and see it as being very positive for me to be able to play in both positions. All I can do is what the coaches ask of me, so if Northampton ask me to go out and play at No15 and I can do a good enough job that Martin Johnson and Brian Smith ask me to do the same for the country then I'll be more than happy.

What is it you prefer about scrum-half? I think my opinion has changed a bit over the last couple of months. I see myself as a No15 just as much as a No9 now. The thing that attracted me to scrum-half originally was that you have complete control over the game, you can affect how quickly the ball is released and you're always going to be involved. As a No15, if you're seen as a threat, teams will play away from you and people will isolate you in defence. As a No9 you know you're gonna be involved in getting the ball and putting people through holes, whereas at 15 you're more of a limelight player, finishing tries off and scoring from 40 or 50 metres out.

How did you find your first Six Nations? It's been an honour for me and there's no prouder moment in my rugby career so far than putting on an England shirt, singing the national anthem and running out to represent my country. I think one of the things they were looking at was developing me as a player. Hopefully as long as I keep performing and keep my standards high, you won't have seen the last of me.

What would you put in Room 101? Delon Armitage, because he's playing brilliantly [laughs heartily].

Good answer. How would you fix the credit crunch? [lengthy deliberation] Lower taxes. That'd help me out.

What was the last book you read. Crickley Hall, I think it was called … it was a horror story. But I don't really do much reading. Before that it was probably Harry Potter. That's about as far as I stretch.

What's the worst movie you've ever seen? I love movies, and I can watch terrible, terrible films and actually enjoy them, but the only film I've ever walked out of was Alexander . It was horrendous.

What is your favourite kind of sandwich? I'm pretty boring, but I'd just go for a typical jam sandwich. [Excitedly correcting himself] Or even a banana sandwich. Have you ever had one of them? My gran used to make me them when I was little. You butter the bread and put the banana on, then add just a little sprinkle of sugar on top.

Sounds … interesting … can you tell us a joke? I gave this one to Una to use during Comic Relief, and she didn't really appreciate it. But I reckon it was all in the delivery, so I'll give it a go. A man walks into a bar with a giraffe and orders a pint each for him and the giraffe. They have their pints, and he orders another round, then another, and another. All of a sudden the giraffe falls off his seat, on to the floor. The man gets up, walks to the door and the barman shouts 'Oi! You can't just leave that lyin' there'. And the man says 'it's not a lion, it's a giraffe' [falls about laughing].

That's terrible. Anyway, tell us a little bit about this water you're plugging, then. We're just trying to explain to people the importance of being hydrated. A normal person who isn't doing any exercise should still be drinking two litres of water per day, and Iceni water, who are one of the main sponsors of Northampton Saints, have conducted a survey that shows people don't realise the importance of doing that.

Water's a bit bland though, isn't it? Is it not all isotonic drinks and protein shakes for you sporting types these days? To a certain extent it is. But when you see the water carriers running onto the field in a rugby game, three of their bottles are filled with water, and the three others are also filled with water, but with a carbohydrate added to them.

Some of your England colleagues have been plugging a certain isotonic drink recently by appearing naked on giant billboards. Can we trust that they got plenty of stick? [Chuckling] You know, as the sport becomes more and more professional, the guys are going to do more and more advertising for more and more brands and be asked to do creative stuff.

How do you top that, though? A full frontal shot? No, I don't think I'm going to try that [laughs].

On that nudish note, Ben, we'll call it a day. Thanks for your time. . Thank you very much Small Talk.

Iceni Water are proud sponsors of Northampton Saints rugby union team and can now be found in supermarkets