Sigley answers Bournville SOS to team up with son Harry
AT the age of 45 and after a 10-year spell away from playing in the National Leagues, prop Rob Sigley lined up alongside his 17-year-old son Harry for Bournville in their last game of the National Two season.
Throughout the campaign it was a running joke within the team that Rob would pull on ther boots again and it became reality on the last day of the season when availability issues meant he got the call up to the bench by head coach Mitchell McGahan.
Sigley told TRP: “People have been joking about me playing all season and I kept saying ‘No’. We got to the last game of the season and Sedgley Park had rearranged for a later date than was planned.
“A lot of the lads had plans to go on holiday and county rugby had started.
“On the morning of the match Rhys Harry our scrum-half pulled out and there was no one else to go on the bench.
“So, Mitch dropped me a message and I said go on then. The last time I played a league match was 10 years ago, so my kit was stored away.”
Despite a tough warmup and falling to a 52-26 defeat, Sigley was pleased with his 10 minutes and enjoyed playing alongside his son, who is a back row.
He said: “I was quite apprehensive at the beginning. We started the jog in the warm-up, and I didn’t think I was going to make the lap around the pitch! I was running round like an idiot.
“I turned to one of my teammates and said my body is in pieces and that’s just from the warm-up, he said: ‘I saw you going for it, I thought you were a bit too keen’.
“So, when I got on in the last 10 minutes I was in a fair bit of pain, and I stiffened up. But we scored two tries while I was on and didn’t concede any, so I’ll take that as a win!
“To play alongside my son was great. Harry only turned 17 last July, so has only played for the first team since January after starring as captain of the Colts team. He’s enjoying the step up to adult rugby.”
Sigley joined the club from Birmingham Moseley 15 years ago after playing more than 100 games in the Championship and National 1 at Moseley and Pertempt Bees.
He arrived as a player coach and made over 150 appearances for the club, and also had a spell as the club’s director of rugby between 2007-2015.
“Joining Bournville with the fun we’ve had over the years is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”