MY LIFE IN RUGBY
THE RICHMOND DoR & FORMER OXFORD UNIVERSITY DoR AND BLACKHEATH No.8
A defeat in the Varsity match is much harder to take than any other game from a coaching perspective because you have to wait 364 days to put the result right. By the same token, the winning feeling is euphoric as a year’s worth of hard work has gone into just one game.
I was very lucky to coach Oxford University in 13 Varsity matches, from 1996-2010, with a record of five wins, one draw and seven defeats. To work with players of the ability of Joe Roff and Anton Oliver was a real honour, while I also met some fascinating people along the way – an undergraduate centre, Sam Adlen, designed the transport vehicle for the exploration of Mars. My challenge was to make sure they knew how to catch and pass – hardly rocket science in comparison!
Tragically, in my first year, an Australian centre called Ian Tucker, who’d come over from Sydney University, collapsed and died on the pitch after taking a heavy tackle in the fourth game of the term against Saracens.
At the fourth time of asking, led by our inspirational South African captain Norman Celliers, we stopped the rot and got the win we all craved, especially Norman, as he’d lost his father and brother in a plane crash only a few months before.
My remit as Oxford University DoR meant I was also in charge of 24 College teams who played against each other on a weekly basis and refereed on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and loved it. Worcester College is probably the most beautiful rugby ground in the world, and I’m fortunate to have spent so long in such a special environment.
In 2010, I left to join Richmond, who were at the bottom end of Division 2 South. It was my first real involvement with a club since a brief spell as an assistant coach with Dick Best at Harlequins at the dawn of professionalism. The aim was to take Richmond back to level three, where the club were before the (Ashley Levett) money came in. We achieved that goal two years into a three-year plan, beating Caldy in extra-time in an end-of-season play-off.
For five of the years I was at Oxford I also coached England Students and used those connections to bring intelligent and ambitious players to Richmond; my coaching mentors, Jim Greenwood and Brian Ashton had always emphasised the importance of culture. Continuity and developing players – not just recruitment – are key to any club’s success and we have several in the Richmond side with over 100 first-team appearances.
A lot of people have worked very hard to get Richmond where we are. To have six league wins already, with only Bristol and Ealing having more, is a bit of a fairytale.
Playing for the Arabian Gulf against New Zealand at the 1990 Hong Kong 7s also felt like one. Here I was, a humble history teacher working in Kuwait, propping against All Black legend Zinzan Brooke.
It was only when Saddam Hussain invaded Kuwait that our time in the Middle East came to an abrupt end. Luckily, we were in the UK on holiday when the tanks rolled in, but we still lost all our possessions.
Beforehand, I’d played for Sidcup, Blackheath and Kent, but a wrecked shoulder set me back. I tell Micky Skinner that me pushing him out from No.8 to the flank was the main reason he played for England, though I am not sure he totally agrees!
I look back very fondly on my career. The shared experiences and friends you make are far more important than any trophies won. Last weekend I went to a Blackheath players’ reunion which as always ended up with old songs and tales from tours – where with time we have all become much better players!