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Former England Rugby player and Lions prop forward, Gareth Chilcott, had touched down on the island to regal tales of his golden glory days as part of the Bahrain Rugby Football Club’s (BRFC) farewell to Coach Louie Tonkin.
Chilcott, affectionately known as Cooch, will forever be remembered as a key player in the 1989 “brotherhood” – the touring party to Australia, which became the first and only team in Lions history to lose the first Test and yet, win the series. The brotherhood of rugby is something he still cherishes and enjoys around the globe.“The greatest thing about rugby is it’s such a great fellowship,” Chilcott said. “No matter whether you’re six foot six or five foot nine, or you’re a solicitor, a doctor or a farmer- there’s a place for you in rugby. All those barriers are broken down.
“And rugby is one of the few sports that still has that fellowship feeling. For example, whenever I am coming through Bahrain, I have got Jim Rowark and Hillary here, who have been friends for decades. So you’re not staying in another hotel. You’re staying with friends. And that makes a huge difference.”
Rowark, refered to as the old friend by Cooch, is a retired teacher living in Saar for the past 11 years and is a coach of the club’s “Golden Oldies” squad. The ever-young crew has only one official qualification, beyond a love of rugby, and that is being over the age of 35.
Rowark, who played in the Hong Kong Football Club on their rugby team and was the Hong Kong National Coach for a couple of their squads, met Chilcott during one of his tours nearly 30 years ago and immediately hit it off, sparking a lifelong friendship.
These lifelong friendships, as well as his incredibly close family, have helped him through some of the most difficult moments of his life.
A few years back, Chilcott lost his wife Ann to a brain tumour and a year later, he was diagnosed with liver cancer.
With the help of friends and his children, Chloe and Ethan, he was able to get back on his from Page 24
feet, get a transplant and has recently returned to his globetrotting ways. Chilcott learned the importance of family and friends early on in life, coming from a rough background in Bristol. He was homeless at 15, joined the All Reds rugby club, finding his identity and a new family that has stayed with him his entire life. His daughter, Chloe, continues to pay homage to his legacy with her volunteer work today.
“Chloe works with youth offenders in Bristol,” he said. “She tries to get them out of their cycles of criminal activity... Perhaps she sees some similarities between them and her dad!”
In addition to friends and family, Chilcott credits his coaches with helping him grow into the rugby player and man he is today. In particular, he mentions Ian McGeechan, Head Coach of the British and Irish Lions.
Chilcott found that a great coach was not just one who understands the sport and its strategy, but perhaps more importantly, deciphers the people who played it. And McGeechan’s quarter-century record of successful coaching speaks for itself.
“He knew when to put an arm around somebody or when to give them a strict talking to. He knew what motivated people, whether it was money, reward, glory or, in my case, the fear of losing,” added Cooch.
This empathy and understanding of people is a common strand amongst coaches. Beyond his rugby prowess and imposing stature, former BRFC’s coach Tonkin is also noted as a person aware and able to understand his players off the field to motivate them on the pitch. As the GulfWeekly reported previously, Coach Tonkin has been recruited by premiership club Exeter Chiefs, who finished in the play-off finals of rugby union’s highest tier, where he will work in a transition role between the academy and the first team.
Chilcott also mentioned his thoughts on coaches in his keynote along with his legendary stories. Old school rugby club members, who had watched his exploits back in the day, found them quite entertaining, adding layers to their experiences watching the matches from miles away.
Elara Aitken, 25, from Juffair said: “We have watched rugby our entire life and our dad is a massive fan. We have seen the sport change across generations; in many ways it is less aggressive and more professional. But Gareth’s stories still speak to the spirit of rugby.”
Chilcott said: “I think there is more camaraderie now in rugby. The world is a smaller place. And things like attending another team’s practice that were taboo back in the day are tolerated much more these days.”
Chilcott is already planning on returning to the kingdom for Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2020 and is looking to bring some people to Bahrain “to show them this wonderful and hospitable island”, as part of Venatour Travels, his sporting events touring business.
