Grass Roots
Forty years after joining Raynes Park, RUSS PRICE is still playing first XV rugby at the grand old age of 65 – this is how (and why!) he does it
WITH THE huge advances made in the elite game, fitness coaches like Aled Walters, Nic Gill and Bobby Stridgeon have become integral to international sides. But without the resources afforded to the professionals, what is the secret behind the longevity of 65-year-old Russ Price, still going in what he makes to be his 55th straight rugby season? “I have to credit my personal dietician Arthur Guinness and my two personal trainers, Messrs Benson & Hedges.”
It’s a tongue-in-cheek, very grass-roots quip about enjoying pints and a smoke but does go some way to helping to explain what would possess someone to stick around for 40 years at a club.
The social side of a rugby club has always been a draw and although the advent of other distractions and things to do over the years means they are not perhaps the hubs they once were, especially in South-West London where Price’s side Raynes Park RFC are based, there is certainly still a place for them. “It is very friendly,” Price tells us over a drink. “When my only son George was young, I wasn’t particularly out every Saturday night with the lads because of family and so on, but now that George has fled the nest, I’m about a little more often than I’m not. But the social side has dwindled no end since I first started. “A lot of it is to do with driving (not drinking) and then the cost of living crisis – people can’t afford to go out on the lash every Satuday night. If you spend a whole night out in London it is probably going to cost you a ton really. And I can’t afford that either! We are a one-club side but the number of teams has dropped remarkably. Pressures on life have changed and so have priorities.” Price admits to lighting up as soon as the full-time whistle goes – “I take my snout out with me in my kit bag” – and has even fallen into vaping, as is the way these days. But while he enjoys a post-match tipple with the other team in the clubhouse, it’s his pre-game choice of drink that really sets him apart from the rest. “I have a glass of Coca-Cola with salted peanuts in it,” he tells us. “It’s my answer to Red Bull. I’ll have it about an hour or so before kick-off.” Okay, we’re intrigued, tell us more... “It sounds ridiculous but I saw it in a movie. I tried it, liked it and have done it ever since.” We’ve not given it the Rugby World taste test but a bit of research suggests “farmer’s Coke” is a popular snack in the south of the USA. Each to their own. Price is quick to make self-deprecating jokes about his age and fitness but to our eyes, he is a physical specimen. On the day of our photoshoot we are treated
