Grass Roots
when many a player is putting their
feet up in front of the TV or strolling
down the touchline as a spectator.
“I love the game of rugby and getting
a third team out means providing rugby
for people of all shapes and sizes,” says
Phillips. “And it’s not just for us. We’re
providing a game for the opposition.
That’s 30-odd people who get a game.
“Certainly in the last five years a lot
of clubs have reduced the number
of teams they run, which is sad and
unfortunate. Putting people on the
pitch means they keep playing rugby.”
Zaffiro chips in to say: “The idea is
to get people playing. If there are only
seven or eight
players, they
give up or go
elsewhere. And
most importantly,
it’s making sure
that win or lose
we have fun.
“Tim and I have done it – first team,
second team, third team. My motivation
is to do the same for that lot of U11s (he
gestures to a group of youngsters on
an adjacent table). We bring them in
as juniors, picking up the ball age six,
take them through to 17, then the colts
and then the seniors.”
They recognise how the junior game
is thriving these days; it’s the drop-off in
adult participation that is a big concern
at grass-roots level. That’s why Weaver
has taken on the colts’ role, in the hope
of encouraging those teens to continue
playing the oval-ball game.
“I suppose my objective is to give
them the life I’ve had in rugby,” he says.
“I want to put my experience of what
rugby is all about to 16- to 18-year-olds.
“Rugby has given me good friends for
life. And there’s the discipline aspect,
the respect side of it. You knock ten bells
out of each other, then shake hands and
go into the bar for a beer. That overall
enjoyment aspect is a big thing for me.”
Enjoyment is a sentiment echoed by
all three of these long-servers. And that
is why they continue to put their bodies
through the strain of matches. Zaffiro
talks about how he used to have to
come down the stairs backwards or onhis backside on a Sunday morning
because his ankles couldn’t cope with
walking down forwards and he retired
for three years because of a bad back,
returning to action last season. Yet he’s
still in the thick of it during the third-team
match we witness. Okay, he probably
covers the field at more of a brisk
walking pace than any Jonny May-style
sprints, but he’s continually talking and
offering instructions to his team-mates.
All three plan to keep playing, whether
regularly for the thirds or occasionally
for the vets and on tour. Tellingly, when
asked if they could change one thing,
Phillips replies: “My age. I’d just go backbecause of the enjoyment it’s provided
me for years. It’s a great sport and
needs people playing it.”
When reflecting on the highlights
of their five decades in the game,
Weaver and Zaffiro point to the Bristol
Combination Vase win of 2004, when
they beat favourites Old Colstonians in
the final. Weaver was nearly 40 and was
called in to captain the first team when
the usual skipper was injured, while
Zaffiro came off the bench to help win
a crucial scrum that led to a try.
There’s also the affinity they feel with
Frampton. They talk of the camaraderie,
the fact that the 18-year-olds will
socialise with the
retirees in the local
pub. They use the
word ‘family’ to
describe the spirit
of the club and
point to the picture
of a young Dave Attwood in a Frampton
shirt on the wall as inspiration for junior
players, showing what is possible.
Things aren’t perfect – there are the
financial struggles so many community
clubs experience and they know it’s
unlikely any of the younger generation
will replicate their 800-plus matches
feat – but the desire to continue to
represent their club and to encourage
others to do the same shines through.
Zaffiro sums it up succinctly when
saying: “Rugby is my life.”
So let’s hail the 800 club and all those
who continue to turn out for their teams
purely for the love of the game. n“ My objective is to give the colts
the life I’ve had in rugby. Rugby
has given me friends for life”
Standing guard
Zaffiro protects a ruck