The Bosch Crabtree Trophy

The moral of Aesop’s fable, The Ass and his purchaser, is that you can know a lot about a person by the company they keep. Scan your circle of rugby acquaintances and you may squirm at this thought. Don’t panic about the stolen valour, social faux pars or drunkenness you have been part of over the years. Zoom out from the graphic details and you see a richer, more socially responsible tapestry.

On Saturday, we were certainly in good company. Our great local friends and rivals, Richmond Heavies, came to play us for the first match in what I hope will be a long-running celebration, The Bosch Crabtree Trophy. The idea of this match was simple: to celebrate two great rugby men.

And celebrate we did. In fact, one of the Heavies celebrated so hard that his hedonic pulses caused spontaneous sleep in The Sun Inn (and ejection). One of the Originals saw it fit to lie down on the floorboards of The Bull and drink a pint of Guinness whilst maintaining a fully horizontal body and head. And he did not spill a drop.

The game itself was well-supported and played on the vast expanse of the 1st XV pitch at Barn Elms. We are not used to so much grass and are much less well-equipped to cover it. The Heavies won 14 – 17 after the Originals lead the first half 14 – 0. The loss stings considering our commanding position at halftime. Alas, we have a shot at redemption on January 14th 2023 – mark your cards.

Above and beyond...
This game didn’t happen by accident. A lot of effort on both sides went into it. Ed Altierac was named as Barnes’ man of the match. He almost didn’t play as he was waiting for some consequential MRI results. The results were delayed to which his response was ‘sod it, I’ll play’. Daniel Atkinson-Hope played despite his wife being due to give birth.

Tom Cazalet and Sean Gibson both invested in large lobbying operations at home to navigate the tricky domestic arrangements that life throws at us. The Occies lent us some of their more senior players who would have otherwise had a free Saturday.

Archie Cunningham and Colin Osborne travelled up Chichester and Cardiff respectively. Simon Curren made the long trip from Mortlake and managed to bring with him a bag of oranges, which he failed to distribute to the teams at halftime. But to give him his due, the Bosch Crabtree Trophy was his idea and for that, we are thankful.

Have you heard of John Fenlon?
The Heavies Foundation have helped get defibrillators into rugby clubs as a result of Bosch’s passing. Last October, an Ealing Evergreens rugby player, John Fenlon, collapsed on the pitch and the players around him saved his life with the help of a defib located at the club that was provided by the Heavies Foundation.

So why all this effort?

Because in rugby, it matters to look out for the person next to you. The shared hardship, physical jeopardy and collective effort give us something special. And while Stephen ‘Bosch’ Fairn and Patrick Crabtree are no longer with us, we can still look out for them, and remember them. And that is the type of company I want to keep.