Nicest Pro rugby player you have ever met ?

I was talking to some guys earlier on today and we got talking about rugby as usual, one is from Bristol and he piped up that he bumped into Chris Robshaw in a supermarket in Cleveland, and he went on to say how big he was when standing right next to him, he told me he was a complete gentleman, now I know a few Welsh rugby players, but one of the nicest, and the most surprising, players I have met was none other than Matt Dawson, I do not know if anybody is familiar with the area, but there is a tunnel like pathway of sorts in the middle of London that takes you from Westminster to the Victoria Albert museum, I was walking through there a few years back, with my oldest daughter who must have been about seven at the time, and I was trying to educate her about rugby and the what not, anyway, I was walking in that tunnel when coming towards me was Matt Dawson, he was speaking on his phone, I quickly told my daughter to "look, see him, that's Matt Dawson, ex England rugby international" and when my wife piped up "Who ?" I said, the one off Question of sport. O yeah, she said, then with that he was a few steps away from me and I heard him say to who ever he was speaking to on the phone, "Sorry, I have to go, something important has just come up" and with that he introduced himself to me and my family and we had a good ten minute chat about things and he posed for a few photo's with us, I know this sounds silly, but that day will stay with me for ever, he was a really nice guy, very witty as well, so I ask, does anybody else have stories about players they have met, and were they surprised when they actually spoke to them ?

Met Kieran Dawson at the Bournemouth 7's few years back.

He was playing in a team.

Came across a  really nice guy.
My team is London Irish, so had a chat about them.

Had a quick chat about the Irish team etc.

He wanted to know where his team could go for a night out, and would mne and my mate like to join them.

My mate knew the bouncers on a door at one of the clubs, so said he would give him a shout.

Alas the booze got to me and I never made into town, stayed at the 7's tlll 1.

That was it home time for me.
Never did find out out if the went to the club.

As I said, Dawson was a top bloke.
Enjoyed chatting to him.

westisbest wrote:Met Kieran Dawson at the Bournemouth 7's few years back.

He was playing in a team.

Came across a  really nice guy.
My team is London Irish, so had a chat about them.

Had a quick chat about the Irish team etc.

He wanted to know where his team could go for a night out, and would mne and my mate like to join them.

My mate knew the bouncers on a door at one of the clubs, so said he would give him a shout.

Alas the booze got to me and I never made into town, stayed at the 7's tlll 1.

That was it home time for me.
Never did find out out if the went to the club.

As I said, Dawson was a top bloke.
Enjoyed chatting to him.

Nice story, and that is what they are, aren't they ? Stories like this just seem to lift your day.

Your story was good to LordDowlais.

Good of him to finish his call and chat with you and your family.

Dont see that to often.

westisbest wrote:Your story was good to LordDowlais.

Good of him to finish his call and chat with you and your family.

Dont see that to often.

That's what took me by surprise.

Of the older generation Jason Leonard is one of the nicest I have ever met, he's a cracking laugh and certainly loves his beer.

Taulupe Faletau is a gent and I know he doesn't like the limelight but I think he gets more embarrassed when people recognise him than the people who want an autograph.

One of them for me is Richard Cockerill extremely nice honest bloke to talk to also quite funny too.

Showed a huge amount of passion for Tigers.

But would say Leonard was the nicest I have met.

I know it's not actually meeting them but... at the end of the Exeter-Glasgow Heino Cup match last season Duncan Weir and Sean Lamont made a beeline for Schiz, his carer, Asbo and myself. Possibly the eclectic get up of kilts and Glasgow jerseys in deepest Devon caught their eye. We were all taken aback by the fact that they thanked each of us in turn for travelling all that way to watch them. Conversation was then cut short by a matronly woman behind us repeatedly screaming, "Calendar...I've got your calendar at Schlong." While her husband grinned and her two teenage sons spontaneously combusted with embarrassment.
On a more sensible note, just before the Glasgow-Munster semi I was sitting in a pavement café in the west end of Glasgow when Ed Kalman strolled past. I said hello and he stopped and chatted for about 5 minutes with Schiz and myself about the game, how he felt about being the summarizer that night for BBC and about his career after rugby. He seemed a genuinely decent bloke.

Maybe its because I am of the older generation but it seems the older players are more open to talking, the like of Gareth Edwards, Gerald Davies and Phill Bennett etc always seem happy to stop and chat.

That said on the flip I have always thought JPR and JJ Williams were quite arrogant.

Chris Paterson is a top bloke.
We took Injured Jr to the 7s at Murrayfield a few years ago when she was less than a year old. She was in her Scotland top and CP saw her and came over and started chatting to us. At which point, Mrs Injured almost passed out (or wind) in her excitement.
Mrs Injured doesn't half fancy Chris P so asked for a photo of him holding our daughter which he did - he was nervous as hell and he looked like he was going to drop her.
One other story. We have friends whose daughter was at the same nursery as CP's child. Come the dad's race at the school sports day, there were clearly a few fathers who fancied being able to tell their kids that they whupped Chris Paterson's ass in a sprint. Cue lots of balding, overweight men stretching the part of their leg where athletes have a hamstring. Suffice to say CP finished, had a celebratory coffee and piece of cake before anyone else finished.

I've posted this before (on old 606?) but I met Henson (and Charlotte) in Reflex (for shame!) in Cardiff . He was a top bloke, not at all the arrogant character he's made out to be. I chatted to both of them for a while (I was a bit drunk ) and they seemed like a lovely couple. It was just after the 2005 Lions.

[quote="bedfordwelsh"]Maybe its because I am of the older generation but it seems the older players are more open to talking, the like of Gareth Edwards, Gerald Davies and Phill Bennett etc always seem happy to stop and chat.

That said on the flip I have always thought JPR and JJ Williams were quite arrogant.  [/quote] I know both and they are JJ in particular

Martin Johnson - top bloke.

Have met a fair few London Irish lads. The 'older' generation of Paice, Ojo, Casey, Danaher, Hodgson, Kennedy etc are all absolute gents. Sadly, the same couldn't be said for some of the younger group - thankfully all of those I had doubts about have now left the club.

InjuredYetAgain wrote:Chris Paterson is a top bloke.
We took Injured Jr to the 7s at Murrayfield a few years ago when she was less than a year old. She was in her Scotland top and CP saw her and came over and started chatting to us. At which point, Mrs Injured almost passed out (or wind) in her excitement.
Mrs Injured doesn't half fancy Chris P so asked for a photo of him holding our daughter which he did - he was nervous as hell and he looked like he was going to drop her.
One other story. We have friends whose daughter was at the same nursery as CP's child. Come the dad's race at the school sports day, there were clearly a few fathers who fancied being able to tell their kids that they whupped Chris Paterson's ass in a sprint. Cue lots of balding, overweight men stretching the part of their leg where athletes have a hamstring. Suffice to say CP finished, had a celebratory coffee and piece of cake before anyone else finished.

Absolutely agree on Mossy - a rugby gentleman of the highest order.

My girlfriend also fancies the hell out of him, but becomes very shy and giggly around famous people. Anyway our club won the SRU club of the month last year and we had a massive game against league rivals, so we chose that day for Mossy to come down and present the award. He was chatting to people and I told the missus to go and ask for a photo and she turned bright pink and almost ran away - anyway, I marched up to him and politely asked for a photo, which he was happy to do.

I then thrust my missus in his general direction and she clung onto him like she was never going to let go. Needless to say, that photo is one of her most cherished possessions!

Absolutely top bloke.

bedfordwelsh wrote:Of the older generation Jason Leonard is one of the nicest I have ever met, he's a cracking laugh and certainly loves his beer.

Taulupe Faletau is a gent and I know he doesn't like the limelight but I think he gets more embarrassed when people recognise him than the people who want an autograph.

Yes I have spoken to Taulupe a few times, he is very grounded, and the Welsh accent that comes out of him... I think that all the new generation are like this though, Alyn Wyn Jones is a VERY nice bloke, he speaks very well, and with a matter of fact that goes beyond his age, I have told him, he is a coach in the making, the most humble of them all at the moment though is Adam Jones, the guy is just so pleasant, and he has a lot of good inside info if you ask him for it.

On another note, a few years back, before a world cup, we were playing a warm up game against Scotland at the MS, I was in the City Arms in Cardiff, and right at the back, there was quite a large athletic chap sitting on his own, drinking a pint, I looked across, and saw him there with a squared chiselled face, and I thought, "I recognise him", then after about ten minutes, it clicked, it was Simon Easterby, I went over and introduced myself, and he told me to sit down, he said he was getting a little paranoid as nobody seemed to want to speak to him, I just told him it was because he was a turk in the big city and we just hit it off from there, I had a few rounds with him, he asked me for my address, and that was that, a few weeks later, in the post I had a large box delivered and inside there was a framed team photo of the Scarlets, and a signed Jersey as well, plus there were a few more little bits and bobs, with a thank you for my for my company, I was half cut when I was speaking to him, so God only knows what I asked him for, but fair play to him, he delivered. I still have the signed team photo hanging up in my shop now.

Nice one. Simon Easterby, the proud Yorkshireman

Anyone got stories of another kind - players who have disappointed you having met them, and those that you wouldn't exactly describe as 'rugby gentlemen' but were a good laugh??

My brother and his friends were down at Twickenham in the 6N a few years ago and bumped into Delon Armitage in a Richmand boozer.  Anyway, after taking pictures comparing Delon's wash-board stomach with one of the front row members of the groups's beer belly, they then got into some serious drinking with Delon.  He was downing pints and shots all over the place.

Great banter with him apparently!

On the negative side, I can't remember who it was but I remember doing a tag rugby tournament when I was 12 or something like that, and we had a former Scotland rugby player refereeing. Anyway, he was incredibly grumpy and just acted like he didn't want to be there. Not the most inspiring!

One of my favourite ever Irish players.

RDW_Scotland wrote:Anyone got stories of another kind - players who have disappointed you having met them, and those that you wouldn't exactly describe as 'rugby gentlemen' but were a good laugh??

My brother and his friends were down at Twickenham in the 6N a few years ago and bumped into Delon Armitage in a Richmand boozer.  Anyway, after taking pictures comparing Delon's wash-board stomach with one of the front row members of the groups's beer belly, they then got into some serious drinking with Delon.  He was downing pints and shots all over the place.

Great banter with him apparently!

On the negative side, I can't remember who it was but I remember doing a tag rugby tournament when I was 12 or something like that, and we had a former Scotland rugby player refereeing.  Anyway, he was incredibly grumpy and just acted like he didn't want to be there. Not the most inspiring!

As said above, in Wales, for me most of the golden age players from the seventies are a little arrogant, but perhaps that becuase they have been pestered most of their lives, I have only spoken to JPR once, that was enough, would never wanted to speak to him again.

Met Serevi outside the toilets of the millennium stadium just before a Wales Fiji game when he was one of the coaches. Considering it was very close to ko he stood and chatted for 5 mins. Seemed a thoroughly pleasant bloke.

Bumpes in to Andy Powell in Lava Lounge in Cardiff a couple of times. He was always decent enough to chat and could take a dig. At the time peole wanted him to offload before contact rather then going head down ass up in to people and knocking it on. When he dropped a drink someone shouted "should have passed it." He took it really well and got me and some of the Uni guys a round of shots.

Living in Bath, I quite often come across various players in town (I forget how small the place is!). The ones I've met have mostly been nice. Saying that, a few years ago I remember seeing a couple acting like complete planks in a well known drinking establishment in town. I won't name, names but I've run into them since and they seemed to have matured somewhat.

My favourite meeting with a rugby player was actually Rob Andrew. My home town falls within the Falcon's area of influence and my club was (still is I think) regularly invited up to the N.E. to take part in tournaments before games. We were due to play Morpeth and had some hours to kill before K.O., so my twin brother and I wandered around the ground. We ended up going in the wrong changing room and came across Rob lying down with his head on a ball, reading a book. I think we must have looked mortified because he laughed and was very gracious with us. I remember him being very warm and friendly and asking us lots of questions about our team. I don't know how much it cost to ferry our team across to Newcastle, but it was worth it because the Falcons have retained a fair few fans because of it.

Once got on a crowded train from Darlington to London. Rory Underwood was already on and had a seat which he gave to me (I had a neck brace on following an incident in which I fractured several vertebrae), chatted for the whole journey down to London as well as getting me refreshments from the buffet car. An officer and a gentleman.

Allty wrote:

bedfordwelsh wrote:Maybe its because I am of the older generation but it seems the older players are more open to talking, the like of Gareth Edwards, Gerald Davies and Phill Bennett etc always seem happy to stop and chat.

That said on the flip I have always thought JPR and JJ Williams were quite arrogant.  

 I know both and they are JJ in particular

I always have and still do when you hear him on tv or read any articles find JJ very bitter. Its as if he was one the heroes of the 70s and loved that, then when other players started taking that mantle he regretted them very much and was very bitter, especially when it involved Shane Williams.

Gerald Davies is a true gent though.

Was lucky enough to go to Oz for the Lions last year and part of the trip was meet n greet type thing with ex Lions of the ones we chatted with Craig Chalmers was a top bloke as was Steve Thompson, the Mullett and Peter Rogers. Also met Robert Jones whilst out in Melbourne and he was more than happy to chat to us and we were not sober to say the least Charvis and Gibbs were ok but Guscott was an arrogant arse.

been lucky enough, over the years, to meet a lot of "pro" rugby players and I don't know if its down to the game and its ethos, but everyone of them where friendly and approachable. Yes one or two of them may have been a little arrogant, but that usually manifested itself around it being late and being questioned yet again by a very drunk fan.

However, it is near impossible to say who was the "nicest" as I don't think it is possible to split for being the most approachable, friendliest or "nicest".

For total surprise factor, I was surprised how approachable and friendly the most "hated" of ex-players by Welsh fans was. Yep, even Austin Healey was a nice bloke to talk to and quite humorous and funny.

But my favorite by far, has to be Ray Gravell. What a gent, he never avoided anyone coming up to him and nothing was ever too much trouble. In fact, I found you had to make an excuse to get away from him rather than him trying to leave your company. I have many photos of me with past and present players and most of them end up as images on my computer. But the one with Grav, is still framed and hanging on my office wall. if there was ever an ambassador for Rugby he was the man...

bedfordwelsh wrote:

Allty wrote:

bedfordwelsh wrote:Maybe its because I am of the older generation but it seems the older players are more open to talking, the like of Gareth Edwards, Gerald Davies and Phill Bennett etc always seem happy to stop and chat.

That said on the flip I have always thought JPR and JJ Williams were quite arrogant.  

 I know both and they are JJ in particular

I always have and still do when you hear him on tv or read any articles find JJ very bitter.  Its as if he was one the heroes of the 70s and loved that, then when other players started taking that mantle he regretted them very much and was very bitter, especially when it involved Shane Williams.

Gerald Davies is a true gent though.

Was lucky enough to go to Oz for the Lions last year and part of the trip was meet n greet type thing with ex Lions of the ones we chatted with Craig Chalmers was a top bloke as was Steve Thompson, the Mullett and Peter Rogers. Also met Robert Jones whilst out in Melbourne and he was more than happy to chat to us and we were not sober to say the least  Charvis and Gibbs were ok but Guscott was an arrogant arse.

Colin Charvis is actually a sort of colegue of mine, we are in the same business, and when you get to know him he is quite a tidy bloke.

to translate "quite a tidy bloke" = "alright for an Englishman"?

As a kid I met Chris Wyatt, I remember him asking me what my position was and I said I spent most my time sat on the bench, he ruffled my hair and said "me too".

I suppose a lot of it comes down to circumstance - if they are at a formal shindig then they are of course going to talk to people and be nice. If you catch them at 7am on a Monday as they are trying to board a plane, they might not want to be so chatty, understandably so!

LordDowlais wrote:

bedfordwelsh wrote:

Allty wrote:

bedfordwelsh wrote:Maybe its because I am of the older generation but it seems the older players are more open to talking, the like of Gareth Edwards, Gerald Davies and Phill Bennett etc always seem happy to stop and chat.

That said on the flip I have always thought JPR and JJ Williams were quite arrogant.  

 I know both and they are JJ in particular

I always have and still do when you hear him on tv or read any articles find JJ very bitter.  Its as if he was one the heroes of the 70s and loved that, then when other players started taking that mantle he regretted them very much and was very bitter, especially when it involved Shane Williams.

Gerald Davies is a true gent though.

Was lucky enough to go to Oz for the Lions last year and part of the trip was meet n greet type thing with ex Lions of the ones we chatted with Craig Chalmers was a top bloke as was Steve Thompson, the Mullett and Peter Rogers. Also met Robert Jones whilst out in Melbourne and he was more than happy to chat to us and we were not sober to say the least  Charvis and Gibbs were ok but Guscott was an arrogant arse.

Colin Charvis is actually a sort of colegue of mine, we are in the same business, and when you get to know him he is quite a tidy bloke.

LD,

He was alright chatted with us for a fair while and in fact I did ask him would he ever go back into the Regions and he was honest enough to say he would but not while the game was being run like it was. He does some training with one of the clubs in the Swansea are but if things change he would like to go back to the Dragons and keeps in touch etc as his Mrs is from Pill.

SS,

Met the one man riot in Llanelli one night after a friend took me to watch them against the Bulls I think it was (didn't they go through phase when they played a few SA sides once a year) and he was p****d as a fart but really nice and friendly, think Rupert Henry St John Barker Moon was with him to lol

met a few pro players, met Gareth Thomas when I was about 10 at a rugby camp and he came across really well and what impressed everyone (especially my parents) was that he didn't just turn up for an hour for this summer camp he stayed and coached for the whole weekend.

Also met Warburton, Faletau and Lydiate, and all are top class guys- Faletau was very quiet and humble, which I found surprising considering his size. but all three were true gents

Faletau does not like the limelight at all and hates being voted MoM in any games as he has to do interviews.

I was still living in the Ebbw area when his father Kuli and Josh Taumalolo came to Ebbw and play both are huge guys but so humble and polite, I think that can be said for most from the likes of Tonga, Samoa and Fiji. Which is why its such a contrast when you see them smash anything that moves on the pitch.

[quote="LordDowlais"]

bedfordwelsh wrote: .... the most humble of them all at the moment though is Adam Jones, the guy is just so pleasant, and he has a lot of good inside info if you ask him for it.

He may be a nice bloke but I glad to take Injured Jr into the bogs in Starbucks the day before Scotland played Wales. A group of Welsh players were there (Mike Phillips is chuffing enormous by the way). Adam Jones got up and disappeared and after he didn't come back for a while, I assumed he had gone back to the hotel.
Right on cue, my daughter needed to go to the toilet so off we headed. Just as we got to the outside door of the toilets, Adam Jones appeared coming out of them. We passed and I nodded to him which he acknowledged.
In my daughter and I went. It was like a scene from Apocalypse Now with napalm filling the atmosphere etc. I think the floor tiles were curling up at the edges too.
Nice bloke but serious digestive system problems.

Injured,

I didnt write that quote

I realise that BW but trust me, my technical skills mean that getting the quote bit right was a miracle without getting who actually said it, right.
Anyway, you focus on the minutiae and have ignored yet another witty but true anecdote from me

InjuredYetAgain wrote:I realise that BW but trust me, my technical skills mean that getting the quote bit right was a miracle without getting who actually said it, right.
Anyway, you focus on the minutiae and have ignored yet another witty but true anecdote from me

lol well he's never struck me as someone who has the most healthiest of diets

He does look like that doesn't he.
To be fair, he must be doing something right as he seems to have been around forever

InjuredYetAgain wrote:He does look like that doesn't he.
To be fair, he must be doing something right as he seems to have been around forever

I will tell him about his toilet duties when I see him, I will ask him about the time he caused a mushroom cloud to erupt over Starbucks, where was it by the way ?

On Princes St in Edinburgh.
Let's just say that, thanks to the big fella, I didn't need to pluck my eyebrows for a while after that trip. I seemed to develop some form of alopecia

Cyril wrote:I've posted this before (on old 606?) but I met Henson (and Charlotte) in Reflex (for shame!) in Cardiff . He was a top bloke, not at all the arrogant character he's made out to be. I chatted to both of them for a while (I was a bit drunk ) and they seemed like a lovely couple. It was just after the 2005 Lions.

Met Gavin after Bath v Dragons Amlin game last season - concur absolutley! Gavin was top man, autographs,photos - have a great photo of him with Tom Jones ( well a look alike! ) Had a great chat with him & he seemed really happy at Bath.
Hope he eventually ends up at Dragons as he is a class act on & off the field.

I got chatting to Andy Robinson a few times when he coached Edinburgh. A lovely guy, really quiet and he came across as extremely shy.
I don't know if that lack of bolshiness counted against him when coaching at the top level (I mean his time with Scotland and England's national teams, not Edinburgh!) and he just couldn't get his message across.
On a one to one level with fans, he was very good and arranged various things including getting Mrs Injured a sign photo of Chris Paterson.

Scotland wise it has to be Jason White, softly spoken and always had time for the fans.

However, the nicest internationals I ever met was Jonny Wilkinson by a mile. First time I saw him was at a Newcastle v Richmond game back in 98 (I think). He was Rob Andrew's understudy and was a total unknown. After the game he and Inga Tuigamala spent over an hour signing autographs, throwing the ball around with young fans and speaking to everyone in turn. What really strikes me is everytime I've seen him after a game, up until his recent retirement, he still behaves exactly the same. A thorn in the side of all of my teams, but a true gent through and through.

Found that my table in Sheekey's in London one night was right next to that of the Funbus and Mrs Funbus. An absolute gentleman, very funny and happy to talk shop when our missus were at the bathroom. Also, put in context for me how big a guy you have to be to prop internationally. He was absolutely massive.

Finally, I am of course hopelessly biased as we're from the same home town but Scotland and Lions legend Gordon Brown was the nicest man you could ever hope to meet. He coached at my local club because his son Rory (in my brother's year at school) was also a good player. Elegantly spoken, ferociously articulate and hilarious. Even in the latter stages of the terrible cancer which claimed him early, he was still on the after dinner speaker circuit making whole rooms of people fall about. Wonderful man, sadly missed.

Funbus?

RDW_Scotland wrote:Funbus?

Jason Leonard

Cyril wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Funbus?

Jason Leonard

As said earlier met Leonard few times and he's an absolute legend. Of the older generation again, my uncle played top class rugby in the 70s just missing out on a full Welsh cap and if you were to ask him this question he would without doubt say Alun Pask.

I've met a fair few players over the years and they've almost all been genuinely nice. A few highlights (mostly Quins):

- Tom Williams serving at the Jolly Hog stall in the Stoop North Car Park before an Autumn International, then the Quins coach pulls up and Chris Robshaw and several others get out having spent the night partying after beating Leicester for the first time in years (only the LV=, but a token of more to come); they spent ages chatting and shaking hands, despite having been up until 3am
- Bumped into Rob Buchanan near home and he recognised me from the end of season dinner and spent 10 minutes chatting
- Kenny Logan coaches his kids at London Scottish and regularly turns up at the same festivals we do. Always seems a great guy but we don't like to distract him from coaching. Loses points for (understandably) not bringing his other half
- Went for a burger after a game and found Nick Evans, Will Skinner and Mark Lambert having dinner in the same place. They wouldn't even let me buy them a drink.
- Sat between John Inverdale and George North at a corporate do - both really nice guys and very self-deprecating
- Will Skinner was on the train to Twickenham before a Quins game and we were all trying not to bother him, but he noticed a young lad staring and spent the whole journey talking to him and explaining about his neck injury (which eventually led to his retirement) - "I'm just a spectator today."
- My daughter ran round a corner in Toulon and accidentally tackled James Johnston (it was the day before the Toulon-Quins Amlin QF), who found it very funny. The same evening, Conor O'Shea gave an impromptu analysis of the QF that had been showing in the bar.

Probably the best effort was Martin Johnson who, along with Andy Goode and Lewis Moody, were the guests at Darren Maddy (Leicester cricketer)'s benefit dinner. Johnson arrived early, vanished into the kitchen and signed anything that was there to be signed, stayed late afterwards chatting and even walked us out of the ground when he found us meandering drunkenly in search of an open gate long after everyone had gone. The only disappointment is that he phoned Maddy to find out which gate was open, rather than just punching a hole in the wall.

Lucky enough to have worked for the SRU at one point and so have met my fair share, but the standouts have been:

Adam Jones, who chatted away to me after he'd been substituted about the game and the amazing exploits of Swansea FC... Surreal doesn't even cover it;

James Eddie, who is not only the nicest man off the rugby pitch when he's a demon on it but actively goes out of his way to chat to fans and everyone around the background of Warriors. Genuinely nice guy;

Jeremy Davidson, who I was lucky enough to have as a coach and was always extremely grounded;

And finally Keith Wood who was kind enough to take a photo with me when I was wearing the Warriors' mascot outfit at a Scotland international match. They say you should never meet your heroes. I'll be damned if mine wasn't a gentleman!

Well Rory Underwood many times at RAF training and CS training and one of the most approachable officers around, always offered advice and tips when we trained together.

Paul Hull played against him at station level as well as his involvement with the RAF squad

My uncle used to live next door to the Diprose's so had a few kickabouts with Tony over the years before he turned traitor.......

Best one was in the Beehive (beedive) in carterton outside RAF brize norton, few of us watching a game on TV (think it may have been the cup final) Zinzan Brooke walked in, my mate asked "are you Zinzan Brooke?" his reply "well i was when i looked in the mirror this morning" absoloute top bloke, spent the afternoon on the last with us