My Season 2002-2003

By tjs10
May 9 2003

By the end of this season I will have seen rugby sides from over 20 countries compete in 13 different venues, playing 3 forms of rugby in 2 different codes.

I will have seen 4 different levels of international rugby played and club sides from 8 different leagues covering both hemispheres compete in 11 different tournaments as well as numerous friendlies.

I have seen Gold medals awarded, titles won and lost & trophies lifted. I will have seen matches featuring the World’s Top ranked side England, down to the 75th ranked country Niue.

This is not a boast, nor a challenge to others. This is, pure & simple, my 2002/03 season of rugby.

Over the space of almost 50 games & various 7s tournaments I have compiled my top 5 moments of my season and, in chronological order, they are as follows:

Niue Islands at the Commonwealth games – Coming from an Island of only 2,000 people, the Niuans appearance at the Commonwealth Games was a show of true rugby spirit. Their attitude to the weekend reflected the ethos of the competition as a whole.

Every one of their players played from the heart and played for the experience that the occasion could bring. The stadium alone held 14 times more people than there were on their island! The respect that the All Blacks showed the Islanders as they faced their Haka was exemplary and the ovation the Niuians received from the 38,000 crowd as they did a lap of honour before leaving the field after their final game was louder than the one New Zealand got when they were presented with the Gold medal.

4 of their rugby squad also competed in the 4x100m relay heats in order to prolong their Games adventure! The atmosphere in and around Manchester proved that the Olympics doesn’t have to be held in London to be a success and, after that weekend I will always have a soft spot for the representatives from the tiny Island of Niue.

My first visit to the Rec – Bath had always been one of those places that I planned to go to but never actually managed to reach. The away game always seemed to fall on a weekend where I either had to work or was out of the country.

2003 however was different & we decided to make a weekend of it. The weather was (almost) dry, the city was beautiful and the nice men from Bath even saw fit to put us in the corner where the winning try was scored!

I have to say that the walk from our B&B to the ground had to be the most picturesque walk to a game I have had in a long time. We met up with a father & son in the stands. The father, an ex-Tigers player now lives in Bath & the son, a Bath fan, teaches in Leicester.

Both were knowledgeable and good company and, despite going our separate ways after the final whistle we met up by chance in a Bar about 30mins later to continue our discussions on the future of the professional game, schooling in Leicestershire & Bath’s chances of avoiding the drop.

An enjoyable first visit to Bath, 4 valuable points & a much needed break from work combined to make for a pleasant weekend all round. Bath is a rugby town and should remain so, not part of an Avon rugby franchise.

Trevor Leota on the wing?!? – It may have been a wet Wednesday evening in Cambridge but the sight of big Trevor Leota running (and I use the term loosely!) down the wing could brighten up any rugby match.

It was the last game of the season for Cambridge University as they ran out to face Pacific Islanders RFC, a nomadic side drawing from all of the Islands and at the start of the second half Trev joined in the fun.

Starting off as a flanker he soon decided that the wing seemed more appealing and switched positions with relish. He even attempted (though with little success) a conversion from wide on the right. Few University players tackled the big man a second time, some by choice, some following the advice of the tannoy announcer, some because they weren’t able to stand up after the first occasion! A true end-of season “jolly” that saw big-name players such as Leota lining up alongside RL players like Tevita Vaikona & players from the National divisions & amateur leagues.

Munster winning their personal “Heineken Cup Final” – As a Tigers fan, the result of the match was clearly not the memorable part of the day for me, however the jubilant reactions of the thousands of Munster fans as the final whistle blew was. As the ecstatic supporters flooded onto the turf, the looks on their faces & the songs in their hearts suggested that they had just won their Cup Final.

By this I don’t mean that they thought the Cup was as good as won, but rather that the later matches were almost meaningless in the eyes of the faithful. This was their Cup Final. This was the game that mattered to Munster. Through all the hype, the fiasco over tickets, the choice of venue, and the recent history between the sides, this was their moment.

As soon as the referee signalled no-side the pitch was engulfed in red-clad bodies, players were lifted shoulder high, songs became louder and, piece by piece, “trophies” from the Welford Road turf were about to be transported back to the Emerald Isle via Ryanair. Munster deserved their day and they certainly left their mark in most of the bars & hotels in and around the city, along with most of their Euros in the city’s tills!

The Baron’s final bow – Darren Garforth, true tiger and 100% clubman finally ran out onto the Welford Road turf for the last time against London Irish after over 340 appearances for the Tigers. As he ran out onto the hallowed turf for the last time, the crowd rose as one to give him a standing ovation, the least we could do after his 12 years of service to the club.

His acknowledgement of the crowd probably brought a lump to many fans’ throats & the applause he received from players & fans alike as he left the field at the end of the match was equally vociferous. Sometimes great servants of the club cannot be given a proper send-off but, the final scoreline excepted, this time the team and the capacity crowd were able to show Darren just how much he will be missed next season.

An honourable mention should also go to Mark_H who just failed to make my top 5 moments of the season. The look on his face as he realised his mother (and the rest of the bus she was on) had just seen him walking through Northampton wearing a child’s tutu and surrounded by Leicester fans was priceless and will be etched in my memory almost as long as the look of disgust on his mothers face will be in his!