Mako gesture just the ticket for fan after stroke

Suffering a stroke may have robbed Gavin Dickson of his seat at the recent Nelson All Blacks test, but a generous Mako gesture has gone a long way to make up for that.

Dickson was presented with two West Stand tickets for the Mitre 10 Cup play-off match at Trafalgar Park by TRU Rugby Development Officer Mark Cochrane, a former work colleague of Dickson’s at Nayland College, Mako squad members Vernon Fredericks, Jamie Spowart and the recently-retired Billy Guyton over a coffee at Raglan Roast on Tuesday.

Taking his seat in the North Stand on that cool September 8 evening, the long-time rugby referee and teacher at Nayland College was excited to witness the All Blacks take on Los Pumas in the historic test.

Just minutes into the match, however, Dickson suffered a stroke.

‘‘It probably didn’t help that Argentina scored right in front of me at the start - I tend to get right into it when I’m watching these games, but up until then there was no inkling that anything unusual was going on.’’

‘‘All of a sudden I started to notice the floodlights blurring into one bright light and I could just make out a couple of players on the field, then everything started to go on my right side and there were pins and needles in my arm ... that’s when I thought I might be in a bit of trouble.’’

With the help of fellow spectators and ground security, Dickson was taken to a waiting ambulance and transported to Nelson Hospital.

Six weeks on, Dickson was on the road to recovery and had already returned to Trafalgar Park for Tasman’s match with Counties.

‘‘I’m not too bad now – every now and then I’ll be walking around and my brain will forget to connect where it should ... you’ve just got to take it easy.

Dickson appreciated the gesture from the TRU, but said only a Mako win over Canterbury on Friday would make up for his All Black disappointment.

The coffee break was a stopover on the Mako’s round of school visits this week.

While concussion had limited his game time in the Mitre 10 Cup, Spowart said his involvement with Tasman and his NZ U20 selection had made the 2018 season one to savour.

‘‘Just with me being a newbie, it’s been great to be a part of it all and there’s been some good learnings to take away.’’

‘‘Seeing the support the kids give us ... they love the Mako and we love being part of the Mako.’’

TRU Gavin Dickson, second from left, was presented with tickets to Friday’s Mitre 10 Cup semi-final by Tasman Mako players Jamie Spowart, Vernon Fredericks and Billy Guyton.