As a Barnardo's kid, Johnny Williams grew up in foster care. He tells LINDSAY JENNINGS how being in care saw him achieve his dream to play for the Newcastle Falcons.

There are a few players dotted around the Newcastle Falcons' bar at Kingston Park. Johnny Williams is one of them. He leans forward and takes a sip out of his pint of blackcurrant juice before shooting a grin at some of the lads who are heckling him from across the room.

Johnny, 23, has recently signed a professional contract with the Falcons and he's still getting used to the attention. It seems a lifetime away from growing up in foster care as a Barnardo's kid.

Johnny has a warm, genuine air about him and appears unaffected by his rising star status, as demonstrated by the fact he's been drinking out of a cracked glass for ten minutes.

His former Barnardo's project worker, Carol Preston, jumps up to get him another pint of the purple stuff. "I can't believe you've been drinking out of a cracked glass, " she chastises him gently.

He shrugs. "I don't mind, I've been drinking out of the other side, " he says, smiling as she wanders off to the bar.

Johnny's known Carol for five years, since she first became his project worker with Barnardo's. She's one of the many people who have supported him through his rugby playing, watching him break into the Falcons' first team as a prop forward.

Johnny was placed in foster care when he was eight years old, along with his older sister, Katrina. He's not keen to talk about his birth parents, or why he ended up in care, but he confirms he hasn't seen them since he was taken under Barnardo's' wing. Suffice it to say, he would not have been playing for the Falcons if he had not been taken into care.

Johnny spent the first two years in temporary care until he was found new foster carers, Anne and Rory Dodd, whom he now calls mum and dad. The family live at Bardon Mill, Corbridge, in Northumberland.

"I've been with them for 13 years, which is considerably longer than my birth parents, so I feel happy to call them my mum and dad, " he says.

Understandably, he admits to struggling with trust issues when he first moved in with them. It's difficult to let yourself love people when you're not sure how long you'll be staying with them or whether they're going to like you.

"There was a thing about being able to trust adults again, " he says. "It was quite hard being put into care through my biological parents and also thinking are my new parents going to get to the stage where they say 'you're going to have to go now'? . I was ten. I suppose I was quite confused in why it was all happening and I was happy with my first family before that and you think why did I have to move on?"

At least Johnny could confide in his sister while he was growing up. On the day of our interview she is being married in her husband's native Zimbabwe and lives in Hexham and it's clear Johnny was close to her growing up.

"She was older and she helped me a lot, it made things a lot easier being put in care together, " he says.

Johnny discovered rugby through a friend and began playing for his local club, Tynedale.

He settled in well with his new parents, but he always knew his care would come to an end when he turned 18 and he would be on his own.

"When my sister was 17 and got an after-care worker and it came time for her to leave, that's when I started to panic, " he says. "I realised I would have to go."

But Johnny didn't have to leave. Instead, thanks to the Barnardo's Housing Project, he was allowed funding to stay with his parents. The project finds supported lodgings for young people, usually aged from 16 to 21, coming out of care or if their relationship with their family breaks down.

Those who volunteer their homes are paid a minimal fee from the charity.

For Johnny, it meant he could concentrate on his Alevels and his rugby and it wasn't long before he was picked up for the Falcons' under-21 squad.

"From when I started playing rugby, I always wanted to be a professional player, and after coming and watching the Falcons play with my family, it became an ambition to play for them, " he says.

"I was kind of determined to make something of my life, especially after such a poor start. I thought I didn't want to be like what other people think of kids in care, that we're all bad or something.

"Being allowed to stay with my foster family brought stability more than anything. It let me relax and concentrate on my rugby rather than the stress of having to find somewhere to live. It also meant I could stay with mum and dad.

Having their support has helped get me where I am today."

The project helped Johnny with funding for driving lessons and when he went to New Zealand with the Falcons' under21 squad it helped with some of the costs.

Carol, who supports the carers who open their homes to young people, has watched Johnny grow in confidence since she first met him at the start of the project.

"But other than that he hasn't changed at all, " she says. "He's still a very downto-earth young man."

Johnny signed his full-time contract with the Falcons in December, which signalled an end to the project for him. It was just before Christmas, and was, of course, his best present ever.

"We probably drank a few bottles of wine, " he grins. Signing for the Falcons means he's now playing alongside the likes of World Cup heroes Jonny Wilkinson and Matt Burke. He says Wilkinson is a good role model, particularly in his dedication to the sport.

"He is driven, " he says. "He's great. If you make a mistake he says 'don't worry about it'. He is an asset to have around and you learn a lot from players like that."

But what about Johnny himself becoming a role model to all those kids in foster care? As a Barnardo's boy, what message would he give to them?

He turns a couple of shades pinker, and seems a bit uncomfortable with the idea of being an inspiration to others. But he says: "The message would be, if you have your goals, just keep going until you achieve them."

Johnny is well on the way to achieving his. He's seeing regular first team action and would love to play for England one day. And maybe that day won't be too far away.

"That would be fantastic, " he says, before adding with typical modesty: "But it would depend on injuries and how I progress with the Falcons. I'm just enjoying playing at the moment."

For more information about the Banardo's Housing Project or to become a foster carer contact (01670) 714400.