The Apple Growers Sports Club Roll of Honour
The highest accolade a member can achieve in the club is to appear on this Roll. It shows true commitment to the club’s cause and should be an example to all.
1. Al Aitken 2005 - Al made 1000 mile round trip from Livingston in Scotland to watch the Growers first home match against The Hornets at Kings. Its one thing to travel a long way to play but to travel this distance to support is a remarkable act of loyalty.
2. Jo Foot 2005 - Keen to support the Growers fundraising event Footy purchased five AGSC 100 club tickets spending £125.00. Definitely the most generous financial gesture made by any individual to the club. If all members were like Footy the finances would be extremely healthy.
3. Pete Rudorf 2001 - Pete pawned his set of golf clubs and his computer so he could come to Oxford for the weekend, play in the Oxford Brookes 7’s tournament and come out on the ciders.
4. Joe Mbu 2008 - Joe took time out of his professional rugby career with Dax in France to play for the Growers against Combe Down 2nds in Bath. Its easy to forget your roots when you are living the life of a high profile professional sportsman in the sunny south of France but not Joe. He showed the lads how to play with some powerful attacking rugby. No arrogance in his demenour even running the line, with the ref explaining the basic rules of rugby to him. Joe listened carefully much to the amusement of the lads and even allowed the ref to tap him on the bum as a gesture of goodwill. Remember Joe, the flag goes straight up in the air when the inflatable oval thing crosses the grass painted white. This week Combe Down 2nds in Bath next week Stade Francais in Paris...
5. Matt Ball 2004 - Matt made a 6 hour round trip from Staffordshire to play as a guest against North Dorset RFC on a bitterly cold day in February. Not bad considering he’s not an Old Brutonian and didn’t even know the majority of the team.
The Apple Growers Sports Club Roll of Stupidity
The lowest accolade a member can achieve in the club is to appear on this Roll. It shows true stupidity in the club’s cause and should be made an example of to all.
1. Rhys Wynn 2008 - The 2007/2008 season saw the Growers in no less than 2 new rugby kits. A traditional heavyweight old school blue hooped model and a modern skin tight belly hugging change strip of red thanks to Rhys. Unfortunately Rhys' ability to obtain new kit does not extend to delivering his new kits to the players on time. With only 5 fixtures Rhys managed to turn up at half time with the kit for 2 of them. Excuses ranged from traffic, to detention at an unknown establishment (not the kind Marco frequents on a night out!). Combe Down on 5th April 2008 saw possibly Rhys' lowest moment. After making the lads wear a borrowed strip from the home side for 40 minutes he then came on at full back, got punched in the face and gave away a try.
2. Nelson Pratt 2000 - Frustrated with watching, Nelson decided he could manage half a 7’s match at Oxford Brookes and that his existing condition would not be a problem. His existing condition included one cracked rib, one recovering punctured lung and one recovering broken ankle. Needless to say he didn’t make the full 7 minute half.
3. Marco Laing 2006 - In many ways a Growers tour is a culturally enlightening and uplifting experience, filled with wonders (Europipe 2006 contest) and Great Stats ("the whiskey is then put into something called a KILN"). The deadpan look Marco had on his face as he tried to convince us that the best Guinness in the world is brewed in Nigeria suggests he really believes in this. Poor Stat (and we were in Ireland!)
4. Matt Ball 2001 - Second rower Matt found himself in the unfamiliar position of scrum half during the Reading University 7’s tournament. A lack of knowledge at the scrum meant the ref had to demonstrate to Matt how to put the ball into the scrum. Matt never forget “its down to the knees and in…”
5. Olly East 2008 - AGSC Chairman has sat through committee meetings and had lengthy discussions with AGSC top brass about the club website and ways to encourage members and supporters to regularly check the site while on the web for results, fixtures, latest news only to then send an email asking a fellow committee member if there were "anymore games this season and if so when and where?"