13 Oct 2021
Written By Matthew Eastley
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
It’s the same every October. When the nights start drawing in and the temperature drops, my mind frequently goes back to autumnal evenings in the mid to late 1970s.
As a young boy at Our Lady of the Rosary Primary School in Blackfen, the Askeans Rugby Schools Floodlight Challenge Competition matches were indescribably exciting. And looking back those chilly evenings seemed quintessentially autumnal and I can almost smell the damp grass, the beer from the club house, Wrigley’s spearmint gum, cigarettes in the wooden stand and embrocation and Fiery Jack being applied in the dressing rooms.
Back then, I was supporting the boys of St Joseph’s Academy, wearing the famous (at least locally) yellow and green hooped shirts, where my older brother, Gavin, went.
I recall the drive to Askeans in Broad Walk, Kidbrooke, was the same route we took to The Valley on the rare occasions we were able to watch Charlton. And the floodlights gave a similar sense of excitement.
The competition was started in the autumn of 1974 and, as well as ourselves and St Jo’s, involved the likes of Chis & Sid, Eltham College, St Dunstan’s, Colfe’s and Emanuel.
n the 1970s, the floodlit competition was dominated by our old adversaries from St Joseph’s Academy and Chis and Sid and the programme above, from October 1977, shows my brother, Gavin, at hooker for St Jo’s.
The glare of the floodlights made these special occasions which were also helped by the consumption of more alcohol than was probably wise (or indeed legal) on a school night. Large numbers of supporters from the competing schools would cram into the old wooden stand singing and chanting, replicating the football terrace anthems of the day. It was all good-natured fun.
By the time I reached St Mary’s in 1977, my loyalties were divided but I’m pretty sure Gavin, our rugby-mad dad, and I continued to make the journey each season.
Despite coming close on a number of occasions, the final prize always eluded St Mary’s, with St Joseph’s Academy and Chis & Sid dominating the competition during the 1970s.
Then, in 1985, the school finally lifted the trophy at the twelfth attempt and the main picture shows captain Gerry Egan with the Cup alongside a report that appeared in the Kentish Times newspaper.
They did the school proud and achieved what so many fine St Mary’s teams had failed to do before.
I wonder what Keats would have made of it all?
Something about touching the stubble-plains with rosy hue, I imagine.
The line-ups for the clash with St Dunstan’s in October 1975. What a St Mary’s team this was with the likes of John Shanahan, Paddy Norton, Steve Peet and Nicky Warren to name but four.
The 1985 game was incredibly tense. We were behind for most of a low scoring game. I think it was Gerard Egan who scored from a five metre scrum in the last minute.
It was dramatic. But could have been a damp squib. The week before, Kevin Hedderman sprained his ankle badly. At fly-half, he was vital. On the Sunday before there was a practise session when alternative where tried. It was not promising.
In the end, Kev had his ankle strapped up and played. He could barely run but his kicking, especially under the lights, was key. He was some player. RIP.