Ben Barba on his relationship with Wayne Bennett, life in France and never playing State of Origin

BEN Barba says he has no hard feelings towards Wayne Bennett and has accepted he will never achieve his dream of playing State of Origin for Queensland.

Barba has been forced to confront his mistakes. Picture: Gregg Porteous

FALLEN NRL star Ben Barba says he has no hard feelings towards Wayne Bennett for axing him at the Broncos and has accepted he will never achieve his dream of playing State of Origin for Queensland.

In his first interview since beginning a new life in England, Barba spoke candidly about his disastrous French rugby stint, his off-field mistakes and failing to fulfil his potential in the NRL.

It has been a whirlwind 12 months for Barba. This time last year, he was in red-hot form at fullback for Cronulla, playing a key role in the Sharks’ fairytale grand final defeat of Melbourne which snapped a 49-year premiership drought.

Since that epic night, Barba has tested positive to cocaine, quit the NRL, joined French rugby, severed ties with Toulon after barely playing and accepted a lifeline with Super League giants St Helens.

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Barba has been forced to confront his mistakes. Picture: Gregg Porteous

Now Barba is attempting to superglue the shattered shards of his rugby league career. His NRL-imposed 12-match ban for cocaine use is set to expire, with Barba to make his St Helens debut against Wigan on Saturday week.

Barba was on track to be rugby league’s next superstar when he won the Dally M Medal in 2012 but five years on, he admits he took his NRL career for granted.

“I guess I’ve learned how easy things were when I was back in Australia and it’s one of those things ... you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” said Barba from the UK.

“It hasn’t so much been a learning curve but I’ve understood things a little bit better. I’ve made mistakes and this is how I can make up for it really, by playing good football for St Helens.

“It was definitely tough (serving his suspension) but I’ve great support from my family and management. I wasn’t too sure what was going to happen or whether I was going to play the game again or what I was doing to do.

“I’m looking forward to coming back but I’m a bit nervous as well. It’s been 10 months between rugby league games, so it’s going to feel like I’m starting all over again.

“But I’ll be playing in a great side and hopefully it’s not going to be too bad to fall back into it.”

With Drew Mitchell — Barba’s French escape didn’t last long.

With his Sharks career in limbo, Barba stunned the code by quitting the NRL to sign a lucrative deal with French rugby club Toulon.

His French sojourn lasted just 98 days. Incredibly, Barba pocketed $500,000 for just 96 minutes of service.

While the money was attractive, Barba admits life in cosmopolitan France was difficult for an English-speaking kid from Mackay.

“It (the language barrier) was definitely the hardest thing,” says the father of four. “Just simple things like getting groceries and shopping. Those kind of things were quite difficult but me and my partner got through it.

“I could have stayed at Cronulla but the gig at Toulon came along. I would’ve liked my rugby career to have worked out better and got a few more games, but it wasn’t for me.

“I like being back in an English environment again after being in France. The weather is the biggest difference (compared to Australia) but it’s good to get back to an English speaking nation again.

“I’m just really happy that St Helens gave me a shot and got me back into the game I enjoy.”

Barba has come to terms with his failures, chiefly his unfulfilling season at the Broncos and inability to claim a beloved Queensland jumper.

In his Dally M season, Barba was named 19th man for Queensland but never kicked on to play Origin.

Two years after clinching the NRL’s player-of-the-year gong, Barba was tipped to light up the Broncos. He struggled to make an impact in 25 games and was shown the door by Bennett, who was returning to Red Hill and bringing Maroons ace Darius Boyd with him.

“There’s no regrets,” Barba said. “People ask if I have any hard feelings (towards Bennett), but I really didn’t at the time.

“I know rugby league is a business and people and coaches have plans of the way they want to coach and who they want. Wayne Bennett had a different idea and I wasn’t part of it, which actually worked out well for myself as I won a premiership two years later (at Cronulla).

“If I’d stuck around kicking stones, I wouldn’t have been at Cronulla.”

Barba has been through a lot in the game. Picture: Brett Costello

Asked if he regrets not playing Origin, Barba said: “A few years ago I’d have said yes.

“Now I think about it and while getting to play Origin would’ve been wonderful, I was playing fullback at a time when people like Darius Boyd and Billy Slater were at their peak.

“Maybe I should’ve come around in a different generation but I’ve no regrets at not playing for Queensland.”

At 28, Barba still has time to pen some positive chapters. The curtain has likely fallen on his NRL career, but St Helens once idolised a Queensland star called Mal Meninga. Three decades later, Barba hopes to have a similar impact in the red and white.

“I went shopping the other day and I saw two kids walking around in St Helens shirts with my name and number on the back,” he says.

“In Australia, we don’t have the names on the back of shirts and my daughters can read now, so they were wanting to know why they had our surname on their shirts.

“Just being around the town has showed me how important the club is to the people.

“I guess that (the hype at his signing) comes with what I’ve done in my career. I struggled with that when I was younger but now I’m a lot older and I’ve seen what it’s like to be the centre of media attention.

“Now I know what I have to do to perform at my best.”

Originally published as Ben Barba on his relationship with Wayne Bennett, life in France and never playing State of Origin