Hello Mr Chairman
First of all – What is happening about our move to Gladstone Park? What’s the story? Any progress?
Its rather frustrating not having proper training facilities and a decent pitch I know - among my first jobs on the committee was arranging and attending a meeting with Brent Council, Middlesex County RFU and Kilburn Cosmos to discuss facilities. This was 6 seasons ago and at that point the plans for a sports development at Gladstone Park were fairly historic and needed updating. I hope it is fair to say it was combined pressure from the Club and from the many schools in vicinity of the park that lack sports fields of their own that got the plans updated. It may seem to us, playing on Tiverton Green and having nowhere to train, as though the development has moved at glacial speeds and at times it has been frustrating. But hats off to Brent Council – there are people there, and in the local community – who have moved heaven and earth to make it happen. Mapesbury Councillors Hayley Matthews and Chris Leaman particularly have been very supportive, along with our Patron John Hoskins and I’m glad to say that through our membership of the Gladstone Park Consultative Committee, the Club is already accepted as a member of the park community.
You can see the progress with the new pitches. The whole development is taking shape and the grounds will be ready for formal sport by June 2009. We want to be the first to hold a big sporting event there – hopefully a Sevens Competition – but the Junior Cosmos have already made a home there and were the first to use the new pavilion! Our efforts to develop Youth Rugby will, I hope, provide the final push to establishing Rugby Union in Gladstone Park.
You can see the progress with the new pitches. The whole development is taking shape and the grounds will be ready for formal sport by June 2009. We want to be the first to hold a big sporting event there – hopefully a Sevens Competition – but the Junior Cosmos have already made a home there and were the first to use the new pavilion! Our efforts to develop Youth Rugby will, I hope, provide the final push to establishing Rugby Union in Gladstone Park.
Now that’s sorted bit of background – how did you end up at the Cosmos? How long have you been at the club? How long have you been chairman for and why did you decide to take up the role?
I joined in the 2001/02 season, like so many others of my Cosmos intake, after meeting Jim Greetham in a pub in Willesden Green. Jim was a real Rugby evangelist – he embarrassed me into coming along and having a go after I admitted I hadn’t played for 9 years but still reckoned I knew how to play. I turned out for the 2xv the following Saturday, went on at half time and immediately gave away a penalty for entering a ruck from the side. Not a habit I have lost, as many will attest. Afterwards I met Mike Maillou who gave me a bit of the club background. I’ve been coming back ever since.
At that time the 1xv was very established but the 2xv was struggling to get games. Jim picked it up and made it the social heart of the club, getting sponsorship and discount beers from pubs on Kilburn High Road. The 2xv soon had plenty of players and we entered the Middlesex Merit Table. The 1XV in those days was in Herts-Midd Division 2 having won promotion a couple of seasons earlier. Julian Laugenie was Chairman and although the organization was as haphazard then as it sometimes can be today, Jim, Julian, Mike and guys like Owen Sanders kept it going brilliantly. Much of what we’re doing now is built on their efforts and of the vision of the club founder John Tymon.
I did a stint as Club Captain when Jim Greetham took the Chair. When he decided it was time to move to New Zealand, in my desperation to avoid becoming Club Secretary, I ended up as Chairman.
What do you think you’ve achieved during your time as chairman and what are your aims for the club?
My first season in the Chair was a rough introduction. I knew very little about running a club and the 1xv suffered from a lot of retirements. We stayed in Division 2 on points difference in 2004/05. At that time I felt the club had to grow or it would never prosper so I set a few straight forward objectives – get better facilities, offer better training, play rugby to a higher standard and achieve this by broadening our base – basically, by offering more rugby to more people and establishing the club in the local community.
I wanted to involve more people in the club. Setting up a Cosmos Women’s team was an early target and I’m very pleased to say it’s now in its fifth season. Junior Rugby took a little while longer to get going, but we’re now in our third season and have 50 kids playing regularly across 6 age groups. That is one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in my life, let alone in rugby.
Getting to Division 1 was also a target and one we nearly didn’t achieve due to problems with our administration. When the league punished us for playing unregistered players and we missed promotion, it felt harsh, unjust even given the effort I could see everyone was putting in, but it made us sort out the club admin and now I’m pleased to say we are vastly improved on that front. We went on to have a great season in 2006/07 when we won division 2. So much of that we owe to the efforts of guys like Rohan McNaughton and Mike Maillou who do a huge amount behind the scenes, and to others who have lead in training and on the pitch – Hayden Burns, Ian Stewart and of course Shayne Whyte! I’m very proud of what we all achieved in those years and since. Division One is tougher level, but we are now in our second season and we are more than worthy of it.
Overall, my aim for my Chairmanship is simple – to leave the club in a better, stronger position than when I took it on. I will evaluate my leadership on that basis at the end of this season.
And how do you see the club placed looking ahead? – a solid future?
We have a very bright future – we’ve got a great junior section which will grow and grow, the adult men’s have a dedicated and ambitious coach and the Women’s team is going from strength to strength. Off the pitch, more people know about us and are willing to help us achieve our ambitions than ever before. When we move to Gladstone Park (finally!) we will be within 5 minutes walk of a Zone 2 tube station making us one of London’s most accessible clubs – that, and the other opportunities the new home will bring (sevens, mini and youth rugby, real visibility in the local community) mean that we must not be complacent and let these chances pass us by.
We want to bring Regional Rugby to Kilburn and bring Rugby Union to more and more people. We need to adapt and grow to meet the challenges that more people and more rugby will bring.
What do you believe are the strengths of the club? And the weaknesses?
We have always been an international club and I don’t just mean the fantastic tours Jon Church organizes. I have played matches with people in a Cosmos jersey who hail from the farthest corners of the rugby world, Americans, New Zealanders, Australians, French, South Africans, Namibians, Italians, Spanish, Germans, Irish, Welsh, Scots… I know that there have been times when I’ve been the only Englishman playing for Kilburn in some games! I love that about the club – everyone finds a home from home here and has a great time. Mind you, we’ve enough accountants from Southland, New Zealand. No more please. That’s enough…
Our style of rugby also draws people in. We may not be the most structured or the most drilled, but we play with flair and enterprise and can be very good to watch! When we get going, we have a great party. That’s always been a Kilburn strength.
If we have any weaknesses, it’s keeping the admin side up and getting people involved in running the club. It’s too easy to ask the same people to do more and more jobs. Anyone from the club who reads this needs to know just how much of our spare time goes into running the Cosmos and how much more they can do even by just paying their subs on time and getting their registration forms in.
What’s going to happen when you step down as chairman? Its going to leave some big shoes to fill and a lot of pressure on the new person to keep the club improving
I’m not planning to carry on in this role past the end of this season. 5 seasons is long enough, it’s time for someone else to have a go and a new home in Gladstone Park will mean it’s also time for fresh ideas. I hope to stay on in some form or other, especially as coach or referee, and if they’ll have me back, in a committee post as well. I am sure that the progress we’ve made in recent years means the club is now ready for someone to take it on and really make it buzz!
Playing wise you seem to have evolved into a rather decent prop and important part of the 1st XV from a bit part prop/lock from when I first arrived – what do you put the improvement down to?
Pies, and a strict regime of after-match beers and sambuca with Bernard Knapp and Rick Nunes. Seriously though, Bernard, Rick, Whytie, Kingy… even as far back as Charlie and Owen Sanders and The Father… so many Cosmos players have all been patient with me and shown me what to do when I’ve needed guidance. If I’m playing well now, its thanks to them.
Bernard Knapp, the greatest prop ever to pull on a Cosmos Jersey, once said to me after a hard day on the park “You had a good game today. For you.” And that’s enough for me.
What are the strengths to your game? And what do you need to work on?
My scrummage. I need to work on that still though… I think I need to work on it all, especially my fitness. I can sink a decent pint in the boatrace.
How do you feel about the fact you haven’t scored a try for the Cosmos(must be about 8 seasons) and that anyone who passes the ball to you gets abused?
Props can score tries? I never knew. Is this something to do with the ELVs?
Props can score tries? I never knew. Is this something to do with the ELVs?
Standard questions to finish off –who is your rugby idol? Funniest Cosmo? Most annoying Cosmo? Favorite cosmo to play alongside?
Jason Leonard is, without a doubt, the greatest living sportsman of our age. CB Fry – for anyone who knows their sporting history, is another favourite. Look him up. He played rugby for Oxford University, Blackheath RFC and the Barbarians. He played Association Football for Southampton and England, playing in the 1902 FA cup final. He Captained Sussex County and England Cricket teams, averaged over 50 runs and made 94 first class centuries. He won the 100 yard dash at the first ever international athletics match (Oxford v Yale) in 1894. He was invited to become King of Albania (which he declined) and reportedly could jump backwards on to a mantelpiece from a stationary position.
Funniest Cosmos – Porno Haynes. Most Annoying Cosmos – Sneakers MacMillan. Favourite Cosmos to play alongside - Mello Tripodi or Bernard Knapp.
Jason Leonard is, without a doubt, the greatest living sportsman of our age. CB Fry – for anyone who knows their sporting history, is another favourite. Look him up. He played rugby for Oxford University, Blackheath RFC and the Barbarians. He played Association Football for Southampton and England, playing in the 1902 FA cup final. He Captained Sussex County and England Cricket teams, averaged over 50 runs and made 94 first class centuries. He won the 100 yard dash at the first ever international athletics match (Oxford v Yale) in 1894. He was invited to become King of Albania (which he declined) and reportedly could jump backwards on to a mantelpiece from a stationary position.
Funniest Cosmos – Porno Haynes. Most Annoying Cosmos – Sneakers MacMillan. Favourite Cosmos to play alongside - Mello Tripodi or Bernard Knapp.
And finally can you name your All Star Cosmos XV from your time with the Club?
Charlie Sanders – L/H
Declan McGee - H
Bernard Knapp – T/H
John Fenlon - L
Simon Huxtable - L
Scott Aitken – O/S
Mike King – B/S
Rata Smith – B/R
Ruben Boss – S/H
Jesus Perkins – F/H
Tony Perez – L/W
Ryan Cuthbertson – I/C
Mello Tripodi – O/C
James Thorpe – W
Damien Naughton – F/B
Subs – Cunninghame, Davis, Taitoko, Whitehead, Horsfall – Backs
Nunes, Frethey, Sanders O, Laugenie, Whyte – Forwards
