Rugby star turns water baby (From Salisbury Journal)

Rugby star turns water baby

8:00am Thursday 8th November 2007 in News By Morwenna Blake

A NATIONAL rugby star who hung up his boots following an injury has re-emerged in the unlikely guise of the new babies' swimming coach in Fordingbridge.

Budge Pountney, 33, played 31 games for the Scottish national side between 1998 and 2002 (as captain for six of those), also playing 215 games for Northampton Saints, scoring 46 tries before going on to become the team's head coach.

Now he and his wife Ali, 35, run the Waterbabies swimming school at Sandy Balls Holiday Park, Godshill, after returning to Hampshire, the county where Budge grew up.

Budge said: "I retired from rugby because of injury, and I decided I wanted to do some thing completely different.

"My wife started teaching with Waterbabies two years ago, and I started my training and got my qualifications last year. I'm absolutely loving it."

Budge was born in Southampton and grew up in Winchester, where he began his rugby career as a schoolboy.

Eligible to play for Scotland through a grandmother, he retired from test rugby in 2003 following injury and outspoken criticism of the management of the squad.

Waterbabies is a national franchise that uses a gentle approach to introduce babies from birth to basic swimming skills.

Parents learn alongside them the techniques they will need to help their children become stronger swimmers as they grow.

Budge said: "All babies have a gag reflex that stops water going into their lungs, so when they start swimming they can go under the water perfectly safely.

"At about a year they lose this reflex and they also become much more aware of what is happening around them, so if they are not already used to the water it makes it harder to teach them."