Doc's friend zone

When we were not working and just chilling, there was a seriously funny side to coach Stuart that a lot of people didn’t know of. He can be one of the funniest people around when the atmosphere allows. There is a song that the boys used to sing in the dressing room and, from nowhere, he kept nagging me to teach him this song. Now it got to a stage where he wanted to know and sing along to every song. He would catch maybe one or two words and it didn’t matter what you were doing, he would be on your case to teach him the song. I really got to know Stuart better through working with him at Chiefs and that’s when I realised the funny side to him, which I never thought even existed, to be honest with you. Coach Stuart was a calm and humble individual. We’d have dinner in camp around 20h00 and we would sit there until almost midnight listening to him telling us about English players or coaches. A coach who wore so many caps in the team and opened his heart to everyone associated with the club. He was all about unity and humility. Whenever we went to camp, we all knew there was something new to learn from that man. Coach Stuart will make you eat green, whether you like it or not, ha, ha, ha. For someone his age, he was so trimmed and I’d look at myself with my tummy and be embarrassed. That man manages his diet so perfectly and he inspired me to get fit and watch what I eat. I can write a book about working with that man because he was more than just a head coach. I believe if I worked with him for at least five years, I would have been far in my coaching. Thanks for everything, coach Stuart. You are a true gentleman and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and all the lessons I learned.