Showing posts with label broony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label broony. Show all posts

Friday, January 25, 2008

Meet the Old Boys #4 - Jim Rowark



Bouch - Jim Rowark's favourite player. Bouch in action in Manila, 2005. Top: Bouch in
hot pursuit of someone who looks certain to be a little quicker. Bottom: Bouch flaps at a lineout while your correspondent tries to put his head where it should not go.
Yes, it's meet the Old Boys with Broony again. This time we meet Jim Rowark, a stalwart of the Club whose image appears in nearly every 1970s, 1980s and 1990s team photograph in the tunnel and a commonsense Englishman - the first among this crop of middle-aged delinquents.
Name: Jim Rowark
Age: Younger than springtime
Occupation: Retired
Nationality: English
Rugby Position: Flanker (or as it was called when I played, “wing forward”)
Years at Club: 30 plus
Previous Rugby Clubs: Old Thornensians, Cambridge University, Redruth
Favourite thing about HK rugby: Touring with good friends and listening to Foley, both are highly amusing.
Current favourite Club player and why: Bouch. Never a dull moment watching Bouch, ranging from tragedy to comedy.
Most embarrassing spectating rugby experience? 1998 England v Australia at Brisbane. Score England 0, Australia 76. I was at the Park Hotel, Manila in the company of Woots, Burgess and sundry other Australian “gentlemen”. Morgs and I refused to leave our room.
Wanchai or Manila? Hard to decide. However, Manila on “The Wootten” is very hard to beat.
Sequins Corner or the Sportsman’s? Sequin’s Corner. There are plenty of characters in the "older we get the better we were" category, which makes for interesting commentary on the day’s events.
HKFC 10s or the HKRFU 7s? Not wanting to appear disloyal to the Club (I did play/coach the Club team in the inaugural 10s) but the 7s has a special place in my rugby memories
Drinks with Woots or shopping with the wife? The latter is safer and only marginally more expensive but nowhere near as much fun.
Marilyn Monroe or Sophia Loren? I have always been an admirer of the sultry, Mediterranean looks of Sophia Loren but Marilyn Monroe could always come on as an “impact player” when Sophia began to tire.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Meet another old boy...'The' Don Rider, #3

Another day, another old boy.

This bunch are about as shy and retiring as a pack of geordie lasses on a hen weekend in Corfu, but enough of my own little world and onto Don Rider's instead.

It's a little known fact that Evelyn Waugh based the character of Charles Ryder in Brideshead Revisited on Don. Little known because it's not actually true, although I'm sure Don would look good in a boater.

Broony, to whom thanks are due again, initially supplied the Blog with an unpublishable image for Don. Fortunately he relented and settled for a picture of Alexander Cruden (1700-1770), a loony Scot who was involved in publishing and chased women in an "importunate" manner. There is apparently some resemblance between the unfortunate Cruden (read all about him on http://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/cruden_alexander.htm) and our esteemed Don. I doubt this very much as I have never so much as seen Don out in the evening, still less anywhere where he could be importunate.

Less important rugby news will follow.
Harps


Name: Donald Rider
Age: 47 and a half
Year retired: 1997, but you never know...
Occupation: Assistant penguin trainer at Ocean Park
Nationality: Scottish
Rugby position: Flanker
Years at Club: 19
Previous rugby clubs: Middlesbrough, Northumberland, London Scottish and Hurworth Under 7s
Favourite things about HK rugby: Touring
Current favourite Club player and why? Laurence Denvir, because I know he doesn’t lose much sleep over which foot he should step off
Most embarrassing spectating rugby experience: Standing next to PT McGee
Wanchai or Manila? Bangkok
Sequins corner or The Sportsmans? Sequins – because it is nice to be the youngest
HKFC 10s or HKRFU 7s? 10s
Drinking with Woots or Shopping with the wife? Woots, because there is rumour he might buy me a beer

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Meet the Old Boys #1 - Craig Wootten

Introducing a new feature for the Blog at the suggestion of Iain 'Broony' Brown, whose brainchild this is and who devised these searching questions. Broony is threatening to delve into the addled minds of some of the other Sequins Corner regulars, so watch out.

Woots prefers not to supply a picture and be represented by Mat Giteau (or Rocky Elsom) instead. Out of respect for the former Chairman, I haven't used the picture of Giteau kneeling in submission to Lawrence Dallaglio or being smashed by Jonny Wilkinson.

Name: Craig Wootten
Age: 49
Year retired: 2003
Occupation: Postman
Nationality: Australian
Rugby position: Centre
Years at Club: 20
Previous rugby clubs: None - I was a Rugby league convert
Favourite things about HK rugby: Listening to Bouch and Jim Rowark speak about it
Current favourite Club player and why? Mike McKee as he'll be my small boy on the Invitational this year and is easily pussy whipped
Most embarrassing spectating rugby experience: Every week standing next to Foley
Wanchai or Manila? Neither - happily married
Sequins corner or The Sportsmans? Sequins Corner - it's cheaper
HKFC 10s or HKRFU 7s? 10s
Drinking alone or shopping with the wife? Drinking alone or with Foley - same thing
Marilyn Munro or Sophia Loren? Marilyn - not so lumpy and she was blond