Memories – by Anton Lavers

Posted by James on June 24, 2009 · Leave a Comment

The first in what we hope will be regular postings from players and members looking back at the old days – good and bad -at Ventnor Rugby Club

First Experiences of Ventnor Rugby Club – by Anton Lavers (VRFC VP)

In 1975 I’d only played schoolboy rugby for Sandown High School’s 1^st XV. My only experience of club rugby had been a 10 – 50 crushing at Havant – against their 5^th team ( I suspect we were fixture listed as a Hurricanes 3^rd XV as we travelled with another Sandown and Shanklin team). Tom Booth consoled a fairly shattered looking school team on the boat coming back, “Never mind, you nippers”.

Because Gus Baker, the Hurries scrumhalf, was our rugby master, we got to play a couple of matches against them in that year. I was forced to play hooker in an unlikely 22 – 20 win against the Hurricanes 3^rd XV and then experienced another thrashing (6 – 42) against their 2nds. One Len Down played against us that day – at centre having just returned from injury. Presumably Len cannot have turned out much more for the Hurries, because, as I found out later, Ventnor were formed (or more accurately reformed) around this time. This breakaway was initiated by a number of names that I had read about every week in the Sandown and Shanklin Chronicle and Guardian: Buttle, Rouby, Down, Milton to name but a few.

My next contact with senior rugby was an invitation, probably through Martin Godden, who was my father’s partenr at Jerome and Co, to play for the Ventnor President’s XV in an end of season match against Ventnor’s 1^st XV. It was played in bright sunshine at Ventnor middle School and the President’s XV – strengthened by a few IWRFC players won 20 –15. I had never encountered VPA but a combination of the heat, a hard match and a few pints meant that I was asleep before 7pm!

That September I went away to university and was playing rugby there Wednesdays and Saturdays. After my last game of that first term, Martin contacted my father again to ask if I could play for Ventnor.

And so in December 1975, I played my first 1^st XV game at No 8, a 10 – 4 win away to Bognor Regis 3^rd XV. There was no 2^nd tea in those days. I played four more games that season, a 20 – 3 win over Eastleigh 3^rd XV at the Middle School, a 6 – 17 loss away at Havant’s 3^rd XV, a 13 – 8 win at Ventnor against Old Edwardians from Southampton – I got hardly a touch on the right wing on that small, sloping pitch – and finally a 3 – 0 win away at Eastleigh’s 3^rd XV.

The end of the season brought the heady experience of the first Bollene visit. The match was played at Bembridge – probably because the Ventnor pitch was so small. The French backs were bewildering in speed and trickery but the know-how of the Ventnor team prevailed 19 – 13. Roger Evans, whom I learned, had played for Bath (played with himself in the bath more like! Ed) won the man-of-the-match trophy which, he said, was the first thing he’d won in his career.

I remember his try, for which he walked in from over 25 metres with a mixture of dummies and side-steps.

The rest of the evening was rather blurred, involving the Anglers at Brading – probably because Ian Holness was the landlord there – and various pubs in Ventnor. Bollene had brought some Pastis with them and we had a boat race with that – after the beer boat race!

There was one more match that season – against a Loughborough Students XV played at Wootton. I think that they were brought down by Chris May of the Isle of Wight RFC. We won 38 – 3 against a most un-Loughborough like team. I think they also had probably discovered the delights of VPA that weekend!

And so ended my first ‘season’ at Ventnor RFC – 33 years ago in the summer of 1976 – one of the hottest on record.