Unsung Hero - Off The Field

October 5, 2013 Posted in Community / CW Rugby / Rugby Club

Who lines our field rain, hail or shine, midweek, weekends? Who completes the program layout and ensures weekly roster inserts get to the printers on time? Who assists with the website and its associated graphics? Who designs posters and brochures for Mini and Girls Rugby promotion? PAUL ('Shep') SHEPHERD.

Shep's first game with the Oak Bay Wanderers was in 1975 when as a Grade 11 lad he propped for the Thurds against "The Beast" at CFB. What a baptism! John Morley had recruited him from the sidelines and so started a lengthy relationship with the club. Shep had been playing since Grade 8 at OBJH where another Wanderer who also still "serves" at the gate, Gordie Hawkins, introduced him to the game. He played for the "original" BARBS at OBHS and then went into club rugby with the red and white until 1987, including an epic tour of the UK in 1977. A Tour which still is talked about in clubhouses in England!

Why do you like the game, Shep? "It has something for everyone. Any age, gender, body type, personality defect. Such a great combination of skill, finesse, aggression, physicality and intuition. No other sport requires every player to possess all those atributes to some degree and I can't think of any other sport (maybe cricket) where the social aspect is almost as important as what happens on the field." "I used to manage the 2NDS and have fond memories folding socks in pairs with my kids at the dining room table. I also try to distract opposition and assist the officials from 'The Balcony'!"

Why do you continue to support the club? "Since High School days the club has been a constant source of friendship, entertainment, revelry, even employment. Most of the things that are worthwhile in life! The bonds formed playing rugby last forever. My friends today are almos from my association with the game. They've lasted decades. You meet a lot of strange and interesting people through rugby and they never stop appearing. General acceptance of the idiosyncratic, eccentric, even damaged individual is a characteristic of the rugby community that sets it apart from most others. I've taken a lot more from rugby than I've given and supporting the Club still seems like taking. Keeping the game going at Windsor Park so others get a chance to experience the long time rivalries and everything the game and Club offers is extremely satisfying.....and more or less, keeps me out of trouble." So, there you have it. 'onya, Shep and THANK YOU.