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OMNIA
Issue 07 Spring/Summer 2020
Ewan turns his Caterham passion into a career. Omnia talks to Ewan Turney about his role at the Rugby World Cup and how he got there…
Ewan Turney (OC 1993 – 1998) HEAD OF MARKETING AT THE RFU
What are your fondest memories of Caterham? Sport. I just loved the fact that I arrived as an 8-year-old and was able to throw myself into all different types of sport from football, rugby, cricket, hockey, swimming, athletics, even cross-country. I wasn’t the most outgoing, confident or assertive kid, but sport and being part of a team really helped develop that side of me. I met my best mates at Caterham and they have remained my closest friends to this day, some 20 years later – and that includes my wife! hat impact did Caterham and its teaching staff W have on your rugby skills and continued passion for the game. Do you have any good stories from your time in the team? Clearly rugby has become a massive part of my life and I was first introduced to the game at Caterham by Mr Smith (Richard). I can remember being over on the Beeches field and doing tackling for the first time. I immediately absolutely loved the physicality of the game – that was the first appeal. Later it was the team spirit and the fact that it took all types of body shapes and personalities to make up the team all driving for the same purpose. There were kids that I wouldn’t have usually been friends with that you end up building connections with and it really broadened my horizons, outlook and confidence. We had some great teachers from Richard Smith, Pat Lavery, Daryl Paterson and Andy Furnival, who all had a
great impact on me. The passion they showed for the game even on a wet, windy, freezing afternoon on the Hill Fields shone through. I have great memories about playing in successful teams, beating Whitgift, Reigate Grammar School and Trinity, and the honour I felt to captain the First XV. I still remember Pat Lavery walking me round the pitch to give me the news. Lavs was a brilliant character – again I’d say it was the love he had for the game and wanting us all to be a part of that and experience the best rugby had to offer. any people, might suggest that you have based M your career around your favourite things? Is this a fair comment? Very fair. My early career was in journalism and then I transitioned into digital content and then from the corporate world into sport – combining my two passions of creating engaging content and sport. For me, it has always been a simple equation – you spend so much time at work it’s really important to do something you enjoy. I need to have passion for what I’m doing. It makes it easier getting up in the morning and means you can put something extra into your work every day, even on the difficult ones. I’ve been in jobs and stayed in jobs too long where I have lost that passion or found it difficult to motivate myself and that’s not a good place to be because it affects the rest of your life. Imagine calling work going to the Rugby World Cup in Japan for eight weeks!
