Budge Rogers

Description

Budge Rogers: A Rugby Life is the long overdue biography of one of rugby's most iconic players, Derek Prior Budge Rogers. The story of the wing forward who lit up rugby grounds around the world in the 1960s and 1970s with dazzling and determined wing play, Rogers is a true rugby great. He captained Bedford RFC for five seasons, including the year they won the National Cup in his last game for the club. He spent nine years as England captain and toured overseas with the British Lions and Barbarians - with many a tale to be told from these trips, which are a real highlight of his story. Rogers's exemplary playing career was followed by years in management and administration at the highest level as both Chairman of England Selectors and President of the RFU. An OBE soon followed. A player who epitomised the best values in the amateur game, he also became a key figure in managing the difficult transition of rugby from its amateur status into the modern, professional game we know today. Budge Rogers: A Rugby Life gives a unique insight into the life of this electrifying wing forward and his time at the top of the sport.

Sujets

• England
• Inglaterra

Informations

• Publié par: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781785313554
• Langue: English

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2017
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Jeff Holmes, 2017
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the Publisher.
A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library
Print ISBN 978-1-78531-133-8 eBook ISBN 978-1-78531-355-4
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Contents
RFU Injured Players Fund
Acknowledgements
List of illustrations
Foreword
Introduction
1. A giant among clubs
2. The early years
3. England, my England
4. County, Blues and Barbarians
5. The perfect 7
6. From leather balls to laptops
7. On tour
8. Work, family and friendship
9. A fitting tribute
10. The intelligent optimist
Reflections on a rugby life
Budge Rogers Chronology
Bibliography
Index
Photographs
RFU Injured Players Fund
I N addition to telling my story I want this book to support and raise awareness of a charity close to my heart, the RFU Injured Players Foundation.
The RFU Injured Players Foundation provides immediate and lifelong support for every rugby player across England who sustains a catastrophic spinal cord or traumatic brain injury while playing the game, and aims to help prevent future injuries through research and education.
Since it formed in 2008, over 8m has been spent directly supporting rugby players from every level of the game, amateur and professional, male and female, young and old.
The charity provides emotional, practical and financial support to newly catastrophically injured rugby players to enable each individual to achieve the best recovery they can. The Injured Players Foundation is committed to being there for catastrophically injured players for the rest of their lives, empowering them through access to home adaptations, disabled transport, vocational training and further education to enable independence in their daily lives.
As part of their work, they also fund and commission vital research with the aim of preventing catastrophic injuries from occurring, protecting every player who plays our wonderful game.
Please help the Injured Players Foundation continue its amazing work: find out how you can make a difference and get behind the charity to enable them to support and protect the rugby family.
For more information, please visit www.rfuipf.org.uk
Acknowledgements
I T is said that an author s time is mostly spent reading. In the preparation for this book, I have read countless match programmes, newspaper reports and many of the excellent books written about rugby in the post-war period. I have carried out dozens of interviews with Budge s family, friends and former teammates. In particular, I would like to thank the following for their kind co-operation: Chris Rogers, Roger Dalzell, Pat Briggs, the late David Perry, Gareth Davies, Rick Chadwick, Roger Bass and Brian Marshall, who had the original idea for the book.
Thanks also to Jane at Pitch Publishing, staff at the British Library and Gina Worboys of the Old Bedfordians. I would like to thank Bedford Rugby Club s archivist Philip Beard for checking early drafts of the book. I am particularly grateful to Bill Beaumont for taking the time to write the Foreword.
Lastly, thanks must go to Budge Rogers for his patience in spending hours in interviews when he would probably have rather been on the golf course. The project has been a genuine partnership, with Budge reading each of the draft chapters line by line, making comments and correcting my mistakes. It was a real honour to be trusted with his wonderful archive for 18 months. It has been a privilege to write the biography of one of the greatest rugby players of the past 50 years.
List of illustrations
Budge pictured in the back row of the Bedford School Under 11 cricket team (1950)
Budge on the right of his form tutor at Bedford School (1952)
The young Rogers waiting to receive a pass from teammate Roger Dalzell in a school match on a misty day at Bedford School (1956)
Captain of the school boxing team (1956)
Bedford School rugby 1st XV. Budge is pictured on the right of the middle row
During a visit to Goldington Road in 2016
A nostalgic visit to his former school in 2016
The old pavilion at Goldington Road in 2016
Victory shield marking Bedford s cup triumph hanging proudly in the old Scrum Hall bar at Goldington Road
Statue of Bishop Trevor Huddlestone situated in Bedford town centre. Huddleston spoke to the British Lions party prior to their controversial tour of South Africa in 1962
The British Lions 1962 party to South Africa. Budge pictured in the centre of the back row
Attempting a charge down during a match on the 1962 Lions tour of South Africa
Budge in support against the All Blacks in the 2nd Test at Lancaster on England s ground-breaking tour of New Zealand in 1963
The Barbarians squad for the 1963 Easter tour of Wales
The 1963 England Five Nations team Back row: K. Kelleher (referee), J. Roberts, L. Rimmer, R. French, F. Wright, W. Morgan, V. Harding, J. Horrocks-Taylor, W. Patterson, L. Boundy (touch judge). Middle row: P. Jackson, C. Jacobs, R. Jeeps, R. Robinson. Front row: M. Weston, D. Rogers
A Bedford cricket club dinner in 1963
A proud England No. 7 shaking hands with Prime Minister Harold Macmillan before the 1963 Five Nations match against Scotland
The England team in the 1964 Five Nations at Twickenham
Phil Judd, ably assisted by Budge Rogers, tackling Welsh winger Davies at Twickenham in 1966
Receiving the award for the record number of England caps from previous holder Lord Wakefield
England team to play Ireland at Dublin in 1969, Rogers s comeback season
Budge and Greenwood at the England training headquarters before the match against France in 1969. Rogers replaced Greenwood as skipper when the latter sustained an eye injury playing squash the week before the game
Rogers showing his OBE with proud parents at the gates of Buckingham Palace in 1969
England and Japan teams on the 1971 tour of the Far East
A very happy Budge and Nanette with their families at their wedding in 1971
Budge, captain of the triumphant Bedford cup-winning team of 1975
Budge the family man. In the background is Rogers s cherished Jowett Javelin
Two England greats at the launch of Budge s new company
Two old friends in Australia for the 2005 World Cup. On the right is Phil Harry, former president of the Australian RFU
Budge at the 1970 centenary dinner
Budge practising his public speaking skills
Budge at the BBC with Cliff Morgan and Jimmy Hill
Budge pictured with his first England selection panel in 1976. In the top row are Derek Morgan, John Curry, Budge and coach Peter Colston. In the front are Malcolm Phillips, Sandy Sanders (chairman) and Mike Weston
England s 1968 tour party to Canada
Foreword
B UDGE Rogers seems to have been around forever. As a boy growing up in the 1960s, I loved watching England play rugby. Budge stood out from the other players because of his name and his never-say-die attitude. Later, at the beginning of my career, I was fortunate to play against Budge when Bedford came up to play my club, Fylde. Back then, Bedford were one of the best sides in the country and Budge was their best player. He was a loyal one-club man who stayed true to his roots. As a player, I remember him as being extremely fit, fully committed and extremely strong defensively. He was a real team person. I came to know Budge much better after he was appointed chair of selectors in 1979. I was in the England team and Budge went out on a limb and appointed me as captain for the season, something that hadn t happened before. He had experienced the whim of selectors in his own career and wanted some stability in the England set-up. As an administrator, his enthusiasm and love for the game was an inspiration to the players. Budge and his coach Mike Davis were a great team and played a big role in England s grand slam triumph in 1980.
Budge was also a great tour manager. I was struck by the interest he showed in his players, not just on the field, but also in our work and family life. He was highly respected and kept his sense of humour, despite it being severely tested at times. On one occasion, in Singapore, the players arrived back at the hotel in the early hours. As they waited for the lift, the doors opened to reveal a very angry tour manager. Nice pyjamas, Budge, joked Peter Squires, completely diffusing the situation.
For me, Budge Rogers was a rugby outsider who went on to become president of the RFU. As a player and administrator, he has been a wonderful ambassador for the game. In the amateur era, Budge was never paid for playing and gave an enormous amount of his time to rugby, while finding time to develop a successful insurance business. He was an extremely straight bloke. As a player, Budge played hard but was never nasty. Tremendously enthusiastic, he achieved everything the game had to offer. If there was ever a top person in the game of rugby, it was Budge Rogers.
Bill Beaumont
Introduction
He either fears his fate too much
Or his deserts are small
That puts it not unto the touch
To win or lose it all
James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose -
My Dear and Only Love
T HE case for the first full-length biography of one of the greatest rugby players of the post-war period, Derek Prior Budge Rogers, is easily made. Rogers is a rugby legend who captained Bedford RFC fo