Lucky Birkett strikes gold ... and saves his marriage!
HAPPY hooker Ben Birkett is savouring a marital reprieve after revealing how he played the entire 80minutes for Penryn against Tamar Saracens last weekend with his wedding ring attached to the stud of a mud-caked boot.
Birkett, who married wife Gemma last year, feared divorce after discovering the cherished ring was missing during the warm-up.
A Crimewatch-style postmatch sweep of the pitch failed to locate his wife’s undying token of her love, only for panic-stricken Birkett to escape a life on the naughty step following a chance conversation with his father.
Penryn won 27-5 but Birkett told TRP: “My heart sank when I noticed the ring missing and I thought: ‘How can I break this to my wife?’.
“I played the game, though, and at the end we had about 35 people, including Tamar players and supporters, lining up across the pitch. But after half-anhour crawling on our hands and knees, I gave up and feared the worst.
“My mum tried to add some wisdom by saying at least I still had my finger, but that didn’t really help, so I was looking at some massive brownie points before my dad said: ‘Have you checked the bottom of your boots?’.
“I told him not to be ridiculous but cleared the mud off the first boot and threw it away, only to do the same with the second and find the ring shining away on one of the back studs. I played the entire game with it there!”
Penryn, who are coached twice a week by ex-Bath and England hooker Graham Dawe, are pushing for promotion from the Cornwall/Devon league.
Birkett added: “Graham’s a legend in these parts and it’s a privilege to have him at the club. It’s just what we needed and training’s awesome, but from now on Gemma will be looking after the wedding ring when I’m playing!”