Celebrating Four Decades of Rugby Excellence with the OARFC
Report by Nick Hughes (C90)
On Saturday 28th September, for an event organised by the Old Amplefordian Rugby Football Club, 150 OAs descended upon the Galtres Community Centre in Easingwold to celebrate 4 decades of rugby excellence at Ampleforth College from 1963-2003. John and Pauline Willcox were guests of honour and were joined by several fellow coaches including Frank Booth, Geoff and Carol Thurman, Keith and Pat Elliot, Andrew and Gill Hollins, John and Celia Allcott, Paul and Cath Brennan, Dave and Liz Callighan, Chris Belsom and Simon Howard.
A fabulous buffet lunch spread along banqueting tables dressed in red and black was enjoyed by all. Tales of old were recounted, the wine flowed, and all were delighted by some highly entertaining speakers recalling their rugby playing days at Ampleforth over this successful era, which included 8 unbeaten seasons and multiple Rosslyn Park Sevens trophies. The guest speakers were Paddy McFarland (D64), Bill Reichwald (T70), Edward Stourton (H75), Pat Berton (H78), Niall McBain (B83), Mat Record (H87) and Tom Rose (T97). They made a wonderful contribution on the day. Jimmy Elliot (E88) deftly compered proceedings, keeping speakers to time and bringing rowdy hecklers to heel! John Willcox replied on behalf of the coaches and thanked them for the important role they had played in this successful rugby era.
The OAs present showed their appreciation to the coaches for their considerable achievements in producing a succession of highly successful school XVs. The results in that period speak for themselves, but as Niall McBain noted in his speech, it was about much more than ‘the numbers’. Perhaps the most notable theme, apparent in all the speeches, was the depth of gratitude from the Old Amplefordians present for the values they had learned on the rugby fields from Ram One to Match Ground, which they had taken forward in their lives far beyond school; the gift of friendship, the joy in collective endeavour learnt on many a cold wet afternoon in the valley and the mutual respect and friendship between the coaches and themselves, reflected in John’s response.
The camaraderie and bonhomie were plain for all to see, with multiple standing ovations for the coaches and their wives and rousing chants of “Forth” at various intervals! The occasion was a wonderful reminder of the best of Ampleforth's values and traditions, and all felt it was a privilege to be there.
This legacy lives on with the Old Amplefordian Rugby Football Club continuing to thrive. The Ampleforth Society encourages anyone interested to support the club by signing-up as a member. The link for doing that is: https://webcollect.org.uk/oarfc/subscription