GRASS ROOTS
GREYS MATTER Salute Irishman Ian Cunningham, one of the oldest players in the UK! A stalwart of Kendal Auld Greys walking rugby club, he recently celebrated his 80th birthday and recalls, in the distant past, playing for Coleraine against the legendary Lion Willie John McBride, of Ballymena.
Educated at The Royal School Dungannon, Cunningham was a flanker when the side reached the Ulster Schools Challenge Cup final in 1959. Fast-forward and he’s now revelling in a version of a game designed for all shapes, sizes, ages and abilities.
PLAN OF ACTION Keresley, based at Corley near Coventry, play at Level Ten at the foot of the RFU pyramid but are thriving, despite Covid-19 et al. Founded in 1953, a former water pumping station is what they call home, and in the 1980s and 1990s the club played hard rugby based on a mining community.
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