Graham Rowntree: A humble giant.

I went to school with Graham (or Wiggy as we called him). He was two years younger than me but we usually played in the same rugby team. We both played county rugby and both got trials for Leicester Tigers youth team. One of us got in and the other is me. 12 years on from those trials I played a game of Rugby League for Yorkshire Water against Yorkshire Electricity. My opposite number was the Featherstone Rovers first team centre. I got marmalised. I split my lip in a friendly "cuffing" incident, damaged my hand in a retaliatory incident, and took a kick to the knee. I hobbled home and turned the TV on only to see Wiggy playing for England and shaking hands with my hero Nelson Mandela. We didn't play in the same team anymore. I sat and wondered at how far he'd come. I shouldn't have wondered. He was dedicated to this. There was no way he wasn't going to succeed in Rugby. He spanned the professional and amateur eras, he played for Tigers 398 times, played for England 54 times and played for the British and Irish Lions 3 times. He was forwards coach for Tigers, England, the British and Irish Lions and now Georgia. Fierce on the pitch, funny in the changing room, and one of the most humble people I know. I'm proud to have played with him, and to call him my mate. This is a long one, well it would be - it's two old school mates having a chat 32 years after they last played together.