Putting rugby ahead of the law
JOHN HARDING talks to Bristol newbie Tom Pincus who’s put his legal career on hold
Two people who have their legal careers on hold for the love of rugby featured in last Sunday’s match in front of Ashton Gate’s secondhighest attendance of the season as Bristol Bears fought back in the second half to beat Newcastle Falcons.
But their involvement in English rugby’s top tier were at the opposite ends of the spectrum with referee Wayne Barnes taking charge of his 207th Premiership game while Bears’ Tom Pincus was making his first start in the competition.
Thirty-nine-year-old Barnes had indicated ahead of this season’s opener that this was probably going to be his last, hopefully after being included among the match officials for what would be his fourth Rugby World Cup.
Having been called to the Bar in 2002, Barnes, below, is likely to return to the Fulcrum Chambers in London where the experienced criminal barrister and trial advocate specialised in bribery and corruption.
Despite it being a basement battle at Ashton Gate, Barnes was able to keep his cards in his pocket, and he remained his jovial self, reminiscent of Tony Spreadbury, advising players to exchange shirts after the game when, on the rare occasion, the forwards had a meeting of minds. For Brisbane-born Pincus, usually a wing but who can also play at full-back, the game will also be remembered for the 26-year-old as one where he scored the Bears’ bonus point try in the final play of the game. Pincus played for Queensland County in the National Rugby Championship, the top level of the domestic game in Australia, and for the University of Queensland Red Heavies in the Queensland Premier Rugby league, twice finishing as the league’s top scorer. But he decided to take the challenge of committing himself to professional rugby in the Northern Hemisphere where he landed a place in the Championship with Jersey Reds after a meeting with their assistant Neil Tunnah, a former coach Down Under.
Having gained a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Bachelor of Business Management (international business) at Queensland University of Technology, Pincus became a graduate lawyer with global law firm Ashurst in Sydney before his change of heart.
“There are some similarities between being a lawyer and a professional rugby player — the competitiveness, you are still trying to perform at a higher level, but it is a bit of a different life,” said Pincus, right, who worked in commercial litigation.
“I made the decision two years ago to come to England to put my legal work on hold and give rugby a go. I’m on a sort of leave of absence from Ashurst because when the opportunity to join Jersey came up I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. “I had tremendous support from my family and my partner to come here, so I am really happy how it has turned out so far on a personal level. Then it was a step-up from playing in the Championship when I came to Bristol but wanted to challenge myself. “You have to perform week in, week out at training, so that is probably the biggest adjustment the intensity of the training and the intensity of the games at this level. So I was a little nervous initially going out in front of that big crowd.”
Scoring the bonus point try last week never made the decision for Pincus look so good but he freely admits that it was the players’ hard work that turned things round in the second half and a team effort that led to the touchdown.
“Ed Holmes (the replacement lock) should take most of the credit for the try, he made a huge impact when he came on and the runs that he had then allowed me to get the ball down. I was happy to do it, but the team deserve the credit,” added Pincus.
Although he has made his first Premiership debut, taking advantage of Samoan Alapati Leiua being sidelined with an ankle injury, Pincus has his feet firmly on the ground preferring to leave future selection with Bears’ head coach Pat Lam.