In conversation with a world rugby legend

MY SPORT

In conversation with a world rugby legend

By Tony O'Hagan

It was a rare privilege to have English rugby legend, Jason Leonard, making the time to meet me to discuss his illustrious rugby career – and life after his retirement from the game.

English rugby legend, Jason Leonard, at the HI-TEC Walkerbay Xtreme.

We met in Hermanus during the Hi- Tec Walkerbay Xtreme, where Jason handed rugby jerseys to less-privileged, young rugby players on behalf of his charity, Atlas Foundation, which he founded in 2014. “The foundation uses the power of rugby to improve the lives of impoverished young people all over the world,” Jason said. “We operate in 16 countries and have helped 25 000 young people.”

During the Hi-Tec Walkerbay Xtreme, Jason was accompanied by Springbok legends, John Smit and Percy Montgomery, who participated in the exhilarating See-and-Sand Xtreme event.

Jason started his professional rugby career at the English club, Saracens, and moved to the Harlequins Club after one season. There he played 290 games for "Quins" over a period spanning 14 years. The club produced many international players. In Jason’s view, however, flanker Peter Winterbottom was the standout player during his career with Harlequins.

The first time Jason was chosen to play for England was in a "friendly" against Argentina in Buenos Aires in 1990. At the age of 21, he was the youngest prop forward to play for England. "It was anything but a friendly and a real baptism of fire because it coincided with the eighth anniversary of the Falklands War (1982),” he recalled. “The crowd was boisterous.

We were pelted with oranges, bottles - and one spectator threw a bathroom tap on to the pitch. Who takes a bathroom tap to a rugby game?" he asked. "They were also burning our flag, the Union Jack.”

Jason earned 114 caps for England, wearing the captain's band on many occasions. In 1992, while representing England against Wales, he felt a numbing sensation in his right arm but finished the game. It was discovered that he had ruptured a vertebra in his neck and the diagnosis was that he may never play rugby again.

John Smit (left) ex Springbok captain, Sue Anderson from the Atlas Foundation and Springbok fullback Percy Montgomery.

"A bone from my hip was grafted into my neck and due to brilliant surgery and a rehabilitation regime, I made a full recovery,” he explained.

Jason was selected for three British and Irish Lion tours: 1993 (New Zealand); 1997(South Africa); and

2001(Australia). The Lions, as the team was known, is close to his heart and, after serving on the Board of the British and Irish Lions, he is now chairman of the board and will hold this position when the Lions tour South Africa, an event high on Jason's list of priorities.

"We look forward to our visit to your country in 2021. I will be staying in South Africa for the next few days to have meetings with the South African Rugby Board in preparation for the visit," he said.

A World Cup winner in Australia in 2003, Jason also made World Cup appearances in England (1991), South Africa (1995), Wales and England (1999). England coach, Sir Clive Woodward, stated that his decision to bring on Jason Leonard as a substitute for prop, Graham Rowntree, was

one of the turning points in England's victory. England was struggling at scrum time.

When asked about this, Jason replied: "We were having difficulty in responding to South African referee, Andre Watson's interpretation of the scrum rules and had to adapt to the referee by implementing Plan B, which proved successful in the end.”

Leonard was awarded an MBE in 2002 and after the World Cup success he received an OBE.

Since his retirement from the game in 2004, Jason has remained highly involved in world rugby and was appointed president of the Rugby Football Union from 2015-2016. He was inducted into the Rugby Hall of Fame in 2014. Jason recently launched his own special-events

service, The Fun Bus.

It was truly a pleasure to meet such a rugby celebrity and, should the British and Irish Lions emerge victorious against the Springboks in 2021, I may have to greet this legend as "Sir Jason Leonard"…

• Five schools in the Overberg received grants from the Atlas Foundation. They will be presented with new kit, as well as coaching that will lead up to a tournament later in the year. These schools are in Gansbaai, Villiersdorp, Grabouw and Bredasdorp.

• The Hi-Tec Walkerbay Xtreme offered a perfect opportunity to bring Jason, Percy, John and Marius Hurter to Hermanus to soak up the atmosphere in town, and to view all the adventure-sport opportunities in the region.