Dan Biggar on grieving his mother's death, bonding on the Lions tour and why he hates stock answers

There are two sides to Dan Biggar. The player – the consummate competitor for Northampton, Wales and the British and Irish Lions. And then there is Biggar the father, husband, son and team-mate.

This other side to Biggar, his ‘human’ face, informs how he dealt with the crushing disappointment of losing that South Africa series, having finally reached the pinnacle of starting Test fly-half.

For a player firmly established in rugby’s rarefied ranks, Biggar is unusual in that he does not have a social media presence and keeps a low profile outside of rugby. Yet he is regarded as one of the most candid players and declares during our conversation that he is not a fan of “stock answers” or the “take it one game at a time” school of media relations. The 31-year-old does not hold back on his disappointment at the Lions 2-1 series defeat but there are important reasons he has for finding perspective – experience, his club and family.

“It is hugely disappointing and even more so because we went 1-0 up in the series but there is nothing you can do to change it,” he says. “I think when I was younger it would have been a really tough hurdle to get over but with time on my side, for me to come back to Northampton and to be moping about, to have a hangover from the summer, I would like to think I am professional and it isn’t professional to come back to your club like that.

“I am quite independent and single-minded in how I look at things and I am trying to pass experience onto some of the younger guys here that nobody gets perfection or things right all the time, it is about how you bounce back and deal with things.

“That is a better judge of your character. I have a young family as well who I have no issue saying are the most important thing. Rugby naturally comes second to them and that gives me a different perspective. It is easier for me to switch off than if I were single and had no commitments.”

Family played a crucial role in Biggar’s Lions experience due to the Tour’s Covid restrictions: he was away from wife Alex and son James, who turns four in November, for eight weeks. He also had to deal with the death of his mother Liz in May after the Lions squad had been announced. She had wanted her son to go to South Africa regardless. He admits that although he was following her wishes in fulfilling his dreams, he has not had time to process his grief given the sporting bubble he found himself in.

“It was really difficult. It was a whirlwind couple of months. I only really have noticed it since I have been back home because when I was away in South Africa – it isn’t a real life situation,” he says. “You have loads of distractions, you are away, it was really upsetting because I would have loved her to have seen the summer, and I know how proud she would have been. It has been a difficult couple of months but she was the type of person who would have wanted myself and my sister to get on with things. It has been very tough.”

Biggar is also highly sensitive to young James’ development. Biggar’s son is beginning to understand his father’s absences and becomes emotional as he describes the guilt that many sporting parents feel. “I went to Tesco the other day and he didn’t understand that I was just popping out for half an hour rather than going away for six weeks. It has been difficult. I am very lucky how my wife holds the fort down.”

Despite both the trauma he experienced on and off the field in South Africa, Biggar has fond memories and seems to take particular joy from the friendships forged chuckling over a large cohort of Welsh players “taking a good few quid” off Tadgh Beirne and Anthony Watson in card games and how Kyle Sinckler “is one of the best blokes you could go on tour with.”

He goes on to explain that the players being in such an intense environment due to Covid rules meant deeper bonds despite the lack of a traditional touring experience.

“It was a tighter group than we had in the past because naturally we are spending a lot more time together,” he says. “Then because we were in single rooms, there was a lot more time spent in the team room, so it was actually a really good experience from building friendships. You needed to make those bonds even quicker than on previous Tours as we were forced to be in the hotel a lot.”

Having already achieved so much it could be easy for Biggar to be vague about plans for the future but there is no holding back his innate ambition and honesty for his hopes for country and club.

“I hate people who answer with stock answers, ‘I’m going to take one game at a time’ or like ‘if my form is good’ – I am quite open to say I am on 92 caps for Wales and if I was on 70 it would be a very different conversation but when you are quite close to a very big milestone, there is no doubt that is something I would love to achieve in terms of getting to 100 caps, very few people get to do that. That is a huge aim in hopefully the next year,” he says.

“If I am honest and greedy - I know the Premiership is such a difficult competition to win; you look at the quality of the teams - if we could get a Premiership medal in the bag to go with 100 caps and becoming a Test Lion in the next two years, I would look back at my career and go ‘you know what, there wasn’t too much else I could have squeezed out.’

“Understanding how difficult it is, we have to step up to get to the Premiership final but with the squad and maybe add one or two over the next year, I think we are going to be in a really strong position to challenge. You see people lifting the Premiership trophy and it makes you feel really jealous and that is where I want to be.”

As he hopes to get into action for Northampton in the next few weeks and then onto international duty, does he feel there will be an added target on his back as the returning Lions Test fly-half? He concludes with that characteristic candour: “I am quite grounded, it has been the same for me for the last 10 to 12 years playing for Wales, there always seems to be 10 players who can play 10 for Wales and do a better job than the person in pole position, I like to think I have done well over the years and I will battle on for another few years.”

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