Name: Zac France

Date of birth: 26/10/92

Birthplace: Cheltenham

Occupation: Early Years Practitioner

Schools: Balcarras 2004-2011

Your sport at school: Rugby

Your position: Centre

How did you get involved? I played rugby for Old Pats in year 7 then in year 8 decided try out for my school.

Best achievement/result and why: Having trials for my district and then my county. It was great as I was having problems off the field with depression and for 80 minutes everything else goes away, and to think that people saw something in me that was worth investing really helped with my confidence.

Your best coach at school and why: Mr [Phil] Amor. He’s still at Balcarras now I think. It wasn’t just the rugby though he was a great teacher as well. He invested time in all his students and really cared.

Other sports played at school: 100 metres, cross-country, table tennis

Did you continue to play sport after school and if so for whom? Yes, I played rugby for Old Pats and then when I went to university I was playing rugby for the University of Worcester as well as playing rugby league in the summer.

What is your involvement in sport today - watching or playing? I have been back playing rugby union for around 10 weeks now after suffering a serious spinal injury while playing rugby league a couple of years ago. I have just played my first 7s competition in Basingstoke and have another one in Exeter in July.

How do we get more of today’s youngsters involved in sport? I think bringing in people to talk to them who have experience of playing sport is important. But not just that, doing more as a school is important. But a lot of children in schools feel self-conscious about themselves or their bodies. Time needs to be invested in both the physical and mental wellbeing of children and exercise. Sometimes adults forget what it is like when you’re not good at sport and you are made to do it in front of everyone.