I was happy to fulfil my boyhood dream

GROWING up, all I wanted to do was play professional sport, whether it was rugby, football or cricket. Football was probably my first choice and I think rugby was probably my last option. But my parents decided that education was the most important thing and that’s when I went to Oakham for a couple of years and rugby and cricket are the two main sports there. Ian ‘Dosser’ Smith was coach. He never screamed or shouted but how he spoke to you sent shivers down your spine. I’ve never met anyone before or since who is better at psyching a team up. We won the Daily Mail Cup in my last year and I scored the first try with a little chip-and-chase. I’d say that is one of the top three highlights of my rugby career. You can’t beat winning stuff with your mates, especially at Twickenham.

- Jon Newcombe

Other than going to Cornwall on holiday once a year as a kid, I didn’t have any connection to the county but that is where my professional journey started. I’d played England Counties that summer under Harvey Biljon, the Pirates backs coach, and there were rumours about him going to Bristol, so when he rang me and said, ‘do you want an opportunity?’, I was mad keen at first but then he told me it was down in Cornwall. I hesitated because I was quite well set playing Minor Counties cricket with Lincolnshire and semi-pro rugby and initially they only offered me a one-year contract. But I said if I am going to go all the way down there I wanted a two-year contract. They agreed and I gave it a go. I was 25 when the season actually started so I was quite old to begin my pro rugby career but I thought even if I only had two years at it, at least I’d tried.

I loved it down there. We had a three-year plan to get into the Premiership but I think we peaked a season too soon. Our squad was ridiculously good. I think you could have made a whole team up of players who ended up signing for clubs in the Premiership. Dave Ward is probably one of the best players I’ve ever played with and is such a legend. He never tackled, he’d just go for the ball and try and rip it, and nine times out of 10, it would work. Look at Blair Cowan, he ended up playing for Scotland, we had Gav Cattle and Paves (Alan Paver) who are coaching the Pirates now and Jonny Bentley, who joined me at Gloucester, was one hell of a player at 10. The Championship Dream XV was stacked full of Pirates players in the two years we reached the Championship final and it was a nice feeling to be named in it twice.