HTC Rugby History

Back Row (left to right)

Mark (Biffa) Nixon / Stewy (Twinkle Toes) Robson / Raymond (Bulldozer) Taviner / Some Dodgy Beetles Lookalike Geezer with a Westoe Blazer on / Mizzi (Manchild) / Karl ( Forest ) Riddas / Neil (Motor Mouth) Scott / Ice I think they called him.

Middle Row (left to right)

Nathan (Smoothy) Reed / Scott (Jack Russell) Bullman / Lee (Rajy) Melish / Neil (The original Sparky) Parker / David (Lionheart) Bowyer / Phillip (Fonzy) Wardle / Mark (Mr Incredible) Christie.

Front Row (left to right)

Stewy (Ratty) Miller / Martin (Fearless) Allen / Andrew (Silky) Cheetham / Graig (Muzza) Murray / Jason (Nosaj or Doni Brasco) Smith.

Photo and Write-up by: Mr Brooks (Assistant Coach)

 

Well, when I first thought about attempting to create a History page, I had not considered the magnitude of what would be involved in starting from the early 1900's and through investigation, discovered that someone had already done this for me so I'll not steal his thunder! For any historical information about the school (pre-1988) take a look on the South Shields Grammar Technical School for Boys website.

I thought it would be good to start from when Mr Byrne joined the school because, to be honest, that was the day things started to change.

This was the first team that Mr Byrne took charge of in 1988/9. I feel that I must comment on each individual, as these characters were truly legendary.

 

Nixon

An absolute legend, hard as nails, gave 110% and wore high cut DM's as he had no boots (they even had aluminous green laces) a class act!

Stewy

Another legend, a man of many talents in all sports, sometimes lacked common sense but always produced the goods when it mattered. He was my best mate at school. Jordan Carey's granda George used to call us 'the shadows' because we never left each others side.

Tav

A legend that could have become a superstar, arguably the best prop I've ever played with. An animal on the ball, but a bit of a bad lad at school. Good to see he's squared himself away on the light side of the force.

Mizzi

A man before his time! He was a year below us, but because he was the first 13 year old in the world with a moustache and a body dense with hair; we'd take him along as the school mascot (as a bear).

Riddas

Mr Reliable; he'd always fill in for us when we needed him and he always gave 100%.

Scotty

The joker of the team. He never stopped talking and was a really good player. He was in the year below us.

Ice

The name says it all!

Nathan

The ladies man of the team and an all round sportsman. Gave 100% in everything. He modelled himself on three people, George Michael, a Matador and a 80's footballer with skin tight shorts; a class act. He was also a good friend; we went through our apprenticeships together and had a fantastic time from 16-21 years old.

Bullman

A terrier of a player, would back down to no-one, 100% committed and would always be in the thick of it.

Melish

The Tasmanian devil of the team. Wanted to fight everyone and everything, even his dad if we lost a game. Would take him into any battle with me (as long as he didn't have a gun, as he might shoot me if I disagreed with him). He's a boxer now and I think he should have taken that up when he was 2 to take away some negative energy.

Parker

A legend, the original sparky. A ladies man, an all round sportsman and Sunderland Academy footballer; our secret weapon. He was like the flash, you couldn't catch him, class!

Bowyer (Baz)

A legend. Fearlessly competitive, in the face of anything. He would be the last man standing. An outstanding player and a good friend - we made a good partnership on and off the rugby pitch.

Wardle

Again, a good player. Didn't start playing until year 10 and was like a fish to water; hard as nails.

Christie

The original Mr Incredible. Wasn't sure about the rules of rugby, so we just used to put the ball in his hand and tell him to run, he created total devastation.

Ratty

He was an inspiration to me, because despite a lot of the medical problems he had, he was always laughing and carrying on and he was hard as nails. I remember in the County Cup Final against the mighty Durham School when the Durham fly-half put a 80ft up-and-under up and Ratty was at full back, all we heard was "HHEEEEEEELLLLLLPPPPP, WHAT SHALL I DOOO" as the ball was rapidly descending back to earth. Before we managed to tell him to catch it, he headed the ball in to touch and temporarily concussed himself in the process. It was a moment that we'll all never forget; a class act. He was and always will be respected by everyone who knew him.

Marty

Again, a terrier of a player, always in the thick of things and always gave 100%, wanted to take on the world.

Cheetham

A legend. Mr Reliable, always at the front, never stepping back and hard as nails. A good mate aswell.

Muzz

A bit like Riddas, not a rugby player by nature but always made a great contribution and gave 100%.

Nosaj

A legend. The man with a steel soul. He took no prisoners and struck fear into every opposing player (not just with his hair cut!). This lad must have been a member of the X Men and a descendant of Wolverine. He was 110% committed and knew every dirty trick in the book. His arsenal of psychological warfare was unparalleled; he was one mean machine. I played through with Nosaj (Jason spelt backwards) until I was 22 when he went of to ply his trade in New Zealand .

He was and still is the hardest man in sport for me.

 

Summary

These individuals came from the 'old' era at the school. The team was truly unique due to the diversity of the individuals involved and, to be honest, a lot of the team just played so that they could have a fight! This continued until Mr Byrne came to the school and began to instil good values into us as individuals.

The 'Wild Bunch' are currently employed as (in no particular order) Hotpoint Engineer, CNC Engineer, Senior Computer Analyst for the Police, Taxi Driver, Manager for Northern Rock, Electrician, Sports Coach, frequent visitor to jail, Teacher !, Youth Worker, Computer Whiz-kid, Owner of his own Business a Travis Perkins Operative.

Note:

If anyone has any school rugby photos that date after 1988, feel free to post them along with an accompanying write-up to jason@harton-tc.co.uk who is the school's website manager. It would be great to see more history on the site.