(He dodged a bullet there!). After your death you were better have a bad epitaph than their ill report while you live.William Shakespeare (15641616), John Gordon A'Bear, international rugby union player with the British and Irish Lions, and Gloucester's youngest ever captain, Ludovic Mercier, club points and goal-kick record holder. Add your suggestion by clicking on Add a Comment, at the bottom of this page. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. Despite a significant rest period of three weeks, Gloucester lost the final to Wasps and have thus never been crowned English domestic champions. He graduated into the local St Marks team, where Harry Berry made 137 appearances for Gloucester between 1907 and 1912. The cricket match raised 330 from players of both sides, and was donated to JustGiving 4Ed, in support of Ed Slater and his family. He was blown off the park by a combination of the referee and a young Tendai Mtawarira (aka The Beast). Were going back to the nineteen twenties to celebrate a legend of Gloucester rugby. From left to right: Woodward played him in every match as England marched to the final. They also won silverware in the European Challenge Cup, defeating London Irish in a tense final that went into extra time.[7]. He incorporated long walks in his personal regime and was known on the pitch for his stamina and energy in the last minutes of a match. Smart played at number eight and was noted for his speed as well as his hard work around the field. Often poor travellers, they fetched up in Murrayfield and notched up three tries against Scotland in the first six minutes of the match. In 19992000, a third-place finish took Gloucester into the Heineken Cup. In that year, Gloucester Rugby Football Club opened the "Sixpenny" stand, which later became known as the Shed. He was made captain of Gloucester in 1921 for a season. But before we get into that, lets look back at where he started. The 34-year-old retired from rugby in July after being diagnosed with motor neurone . The following year was his last full season playing for the club. The coaches hauled him off four minutes into the second half but the damage was done. He was also a leader, and Gloucester quickly made him a captain of the club. Indeed, England hadnt won in Swansea in twenty-nine years. Right to the end, he was involved with Gloucester and Kingsholm Stadium. A little-known Gloucestershire family business, which has long-standing working relationships with some of the county's biggest building firms and most of its local authorities, is now in the hands of a former professional rugby player from Gloucester and targeting growth for 2023. GRFC Former Players have completed a very busy weekend of strenuous fund raising for local charities. GR President Fred Reed, GRPA Chairman Mike Curran, Derrick Morgan and Ron Etheridge presented cheques raised by the President & the GRPA. [1], In 1978, Gloucester RFC won the first ever John Player Cup, defeating Leicester Tigers in another final noted for violent play both on and off the pitch at Twickenham Stadium. [1], Despite the two cup wins of the 1970s, and a shared trophy in 1982, Gloucester were soon to find themselves in the shadow of Bath, the rising force from down the A46. [25][26] During the 201415 season, Gloucester won the European Rugby Challenge Cup at Twickenham Stoop, beating Edinburgh 1913 in the final. [16], On January 17 2023, Williams was recalled by Wales, and selected for the 2023 Six Nations squad. A number of fans commented on the irony that, whilst the new crest and shirt design were originally designed in order to prevent unofficial merchandise, they have in fact increased the number of fans turning to unofficial shirts. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. Williams started against both Australia and New Zealand at inside centre. The Argentine put in a powerful display in his 53 minutes on the pitch to remarkably help Gloucester win the forward battle. Unfortunately, things didnt pan out the same way. Williams would leave Leicester for Premiership rivals Gloucester Rugby from the 2017-18 season. [47] From the 2019-20 season onwards Oxen Sports supplied the kit. The following pages are a collection of player profiles, documenting their playing careers for Gloucester. Between the 200708 and the 201011 seasons, RugbyTech supplied their kits, and between the 201112 season and the 2015-16 Kooga supplied the kits. Now you understand why we make an exception for his lower international caps. [2], The club left the Spa after an argument with the cricket club that they were ground sharing with. Details have been collated from sources including Gloucestershire Archive, Gloucestershire Newspaper Group (inc. Journal, Citizen, Echo),Gloucester Rugby Records and the National Rugby Museum Records at Twickenham. Email: [emailprotected], 2022 Gloucester Rugby All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policies and Terms & Conditions, Former players play their part in Gloucester Rugbys 5000th game celebrations, Last Saturdays Gallagher Premiership victory over the Northampton Saints was notable for being Gloucester Rugbys 5000. They called him Sinbad and were on their feet in anticipation when he got the ball. Martin St Quinton, an office equipment and telecoms entrepreneur [10] acquired 25% of the club in 2008, and became vice chairman, with a focus on increasing sponsorship and other non-playing related areas. We ruled out some fine players who had a few seasons at the club but spent most of their careers elsewhere. Eddie Rooney We regret to inform you of the death of former Gloucester Rugby player Eddie Rooney. However, you may be able to identify them in the YouTube video of the walk. Gloucester Rugby's highest-paid player in recent years is winger Jonny May. The Shed, so-called because it looks like a cow shed, became known as such in the 1950s. [40], According to local legend, it was decided that the club's colour was to be entirely navy blue, yet on an away trip they realised they had forgotten to bring sufficient Navy strip for the entire team. My name may be published alongside the comment on the website, but my e-mail address will not be published. Matches with local rivals Bath and Bristol Bears are referred to as West Country derbies. The moment he turned eighteen, he enlisted again and went to France in 1916. [48] On the front of the 2021-22 shirt BiGDUG, a Gloucester-based shelving company,[49] is the main shirt sponsor while Hartpury appears on each shoulder. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. Of all the players on this list, Bortolami had the shortest stint at Gloucester. Unfortunately, his playing career was blighted by injuries. The talented player had to split his playing time between his club, his county, and his country. However, by the 1980s, the Gloucester Rugby team began to be overshadowed by their neighbours, Bath. He plays fly-half and fullback. This category contains Gloucester Rugby players from past and present. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. But we rate him so highly because of his international achievements during that time. 5,000th match - Former Players celebratory walk - Photo Gallery, 5,000th match - Former Players walk - group photo, 5,000th match - Former Players Walk - who's who, Pete Wilson meets former Gloucester Players. Money from the Presidents Walk, when finally collected, will go towards three charities: The Fold a South African childrens charity, supported by Martin St Quinton and his wife Judith; local charity Pied Piper; and Gloucester Rugby Foundation. 13 former Gloucester Rugby players are cycling the Doddie'5 Ride to raise money for the charity. His contract is reportedly 275,000 per year. In 2003, Gloucester won their first cup in 25 years, under new coach Nigel Melville.[6]. This article runs through their most memorable achievements and why they made our cut. He was educated at Cheltenham Grammar School. But lets go back to Smarts origins. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. In the season of 1912-13, Smart played for Gloucestershire in the latter stages of their run to a Championship title. At the start of the First World War, Voyce enlisted with the Gloucestershire Regiment. Pete Wilson meets former Gloucester Players Pete Wilson Show 9 Sept 2018. Most Points In A Match. Gloucester Rugby play home matches at Kingsholm Stadium. Notable Former Players. But he was sent home when his superiors discovered that he was under the legal age. At the start of the First World War, Voyce enlisted with the Gloucestershire Regiment. Leonard steadied the scrum and staunched the flow of penalties. He regularly switched between flyhalf and centre. [11], Williams featured in the Wales under-20 national team; helping Wales to third in the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship. Despite the forward pack getting on top around the field, the England scrum kept Australia in the game by coughing up penalties. That could have been an ignominious end to an outstanding career. [42], The hoops returned in the 200102 season, with thin white hoops. A group of four Former Players did both events and on both days it was hot and sunny. When the Lions fetched up in South Africa in 2009, Vickery started the first test. Premiership: Leicester Tigers begin life after Steve Borthwick with win over Gloucester, while Exeter edge out Bath Richard Wigglesworth Steve Borthwick Premiership David Skippers 23 Dec 2022 Premiership: Adam Hastings back from injury for Gloucester against Leicester while Jack Yeandle hits 200 for Exeter Adam Hastings Jack Yeandle Premiership The club has no official nickname but are often referred to as the Cherry and Whites by supporters and the media in reference to the traditional Cherry and white hooped shirts worn by the team. But he must be given an exception for this list because his test career spanned from 1913 to 1920. Like Iron Mike Teague, Phil Vickery also grew up on a farm. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. I had a chuckle about that. So, he didnt hesitate to join Vickery at Gloucester in 1996 and went on to play for eight seasons at the club. [32], On 15 May 2020, Johan Ackermann announced his departure from Gloucester to become the new head coach at NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes based in Japan. Sid Smart lived into his early eighties. Owen Williams (born 27 February 1992) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for the Ospreys. But Teague was also highly skilled as well as being teak tough. There were plans proposed to increase the seating capacity of the stadium to 7,000. He was the youngest captain in the history of the Azzuri. Front Row 4th from left: Dave Spencer. [1], In 1989, Gloucester came close to winning the 'double' but failed to win either competition, losing to Wasps for the league title and losing the cup final 486 to Bath. List of former players at the 5,000th match celebration walk. Phone: 01452 872289 . Pete meets 8 former Gloucester players. We spent hours debating who makes our list of the greatest Gloucester rugby players of all time. Rob Kearney during the 2019 Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final match between New Zealand and Ireland. *. Gloucester Rugby's fanzine, 'Shed Head' refers to it as 'the cauldron of fear'. James Bailey (rugby union) Adam Balding; Fraser Balmain; Iain Balshaw; Matt Banahan; Olly Barkley; George Barton (rugby union, born 2000) Joe Batley; Charlie Beckett; Tom Beim; Jonny Bentley; Henry Berry (rugby union) Christo Bezuidenhout; Bill Patterson (rugby union) Marco Bortolami; Reece Boughton; Callum Braley; Trevor Brewer; Koree Britton; Will Britton; Steve Brotherstone Diego Albanese; Rodrigo Roncero; Jason Little; Dave Attwood; Iain Balshaw; Olly Barkley; Phil Blakeway; Steve Boyle; Brett Deacon; Paul Doran-Jones; James Forrester; Marcel Garvey; Andy Gomarsall; Steve Mills; Luke Narraway; Steve Ojomoh; Henry Paul; Ollie Phillips; Don Rutherford; Mike Teague Hoops returned in the latter stages of their run to a Championship title Quarter-Final between!, but my e-mail address will not be published alongside the Comment on the to... Getting on top around the field, the Gloucester Rugby gloucester rugby former players began be... 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