On the 11th May 1989, England Under 21s played its first ever fixture against Romania as a warm-up match prior to England’s full international against the national team and Mr Back scored a hat-trick. We travelled with the England Team to Romania and were given the same privileges as them. We stayed in the beautiful […]
Start of life in the black green and gold
As a young player I was oblivious to the fact that many of the players I had made my debut with were demotivated and seeking change. Later in life I realised that change is inevitable and you have to learn to adapt to it. Sadly, Northampton Saints had not been a club that liked change. […]
Naked torsos are taboo
Up until now Rugby had taken a back seat and been a sport that we only played in the Lent term at Wellingborough. The grounds of the school were magnificent, and during the soccer and cricket term you couldn’t have played on a better surface. Harry Neal, the groundsman, was an obsessive cricket fan. He […]
The roots to grow and wings to fly
The Number 52 United Counties bus pulls out of the village of Old Duston, Northamptonshire, to take me on a journey that will change my life forever. Up until this point I had spent the first thirteen years of my life in and around Old Duston. In 1982 it was a village on the outskirts […]