Name: Mike Edwards

Date of birth: April 28, 1946

Birthplace: Cheltenham (Sunnyside Nursing Home)

Schools: Elmfield Junior/Monkscroft/Cheltenham Technical High School

Occupation: Retired sports travel consultant

Where live: Guiting Power

Your sport: Rugby union, cricket, NH racing

Your position: Life member Cheltenham RFC, Life member Cheltenham Rugby Combination.

Clubs: As a player – rugby, Gloucester Old Boys; cricket, Cheltenham and Cheltenham King George.
As an administrator – Honorary fixture secretary Cheltenham RFC, honorary secretary Cheltenham Saracens RFC and fixture secretary and secretary, Cheltenham Cricket Club, Gloucester Club Cricket Federation and founder member of Cheltenham Cricket Association. Chairman of Gloucestershire Cricket Association. I also spent 20 years with my colleague Dave Percy managing various age groups for Gloucestershire Young Cricketers.

Best achievement/result and why: An average player at rugby and cricket but really enjoyed it. Reached the county pinnacle in local sport administration when chairman of the Gloucestershire Cricket Association for five years at the time when the game was in a major transitional period, going from friendly cricket to the national league structure that we have today. Cricket was then run on an entirely amateur basis, the England Cricket Board was formed and large amounts of cash were being injected into the sport. It proved a difficult period to administer as all factions of cricket were clamouring for the new funding.

Style of play: A very boring opening batsman and a lazy second row forward, who played entirely for enjoyment and the social interaction that can only be experienced on the sports field!

Best team-mate you played with and why: I had the privilege of captaining the Cheltenham Cricket Club Extras for about six years. We had a number of very good elderly players that just played on for the love of the game – Steve Hansford, Peter Fereday, Roy Cropper, Ian Waterstone, but the best without doubt was the great Ron Nicholls, who played on for years and was passionate about cricket. I think that Ron still holds the record for the most appearances in the county championship for one county.
In Rugby Union, I was very lucky to play at Gloucester Old Boys RFC, when they had a number of old Gloucester RFC players – Ron Beamish, Fred Smith, Ivan Tanner – but again the best was former Gloucester great Charlie Dunne. He was still playing at 52 and he always amazed me with his ability to read the game. He never seemed to run anywhere but was always under the ball, his awareness was amazing!

Best opponent and why: No one really stood out. But the two sportsmen that I most admired, I managed to work with for extended lengths of time. I shared an office at 3D Cricket, when I worked for the late Dave Courtney, with my boyhood hero Tom Graveney. We had great times. Tom had an incredible memory and he could remember almost every ball that he faced. We had about 2 hours of Test match reminiscences every morning before we got down to work! A wonderful and considerate man. Later in my sports travel role I was able to appoint Tom as our tour leader on numerous tours to Australia, the West Indies and South Africa. While we were at the Adelaide Test Match I had a book with me about The Bodyline Series, which Tom managed to get autographed by Sir Don Bradman, saying “Best wishes to Mike” from Sir Don Bradman. I still have the book which is treasured!

The second was Mike Burton the famous Gloucester, England and British Lion rugby player. Mike gave me a big break in the sports travel world and I ended up being head of the sports travel department at Mike Burton Sports Travel, now England Rugby Travel. While working for Mike I travelled extensively, taking groups to Test Match cricket in Australia, India, the West Indies and South Africa. Rugby Union saw even more extensive travel to New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, the regular Five Nations venues and South Africa. I even shared a room for two weeks in New Zealand with Barry John! Thankfully, he never went to bed too often so I saw little of him. I worked on four Rugby World Cups and four Lions tours, working with people like Barry John, Derek Quinnell, Mike Teague, Scott Quinnell and many others. Mike was an inspirational employer, he demanded a lot of his workforce but we had the utmost respect for him.

Best manager/coach you played for and why: Rugby – Norman Partridge, former Bristol player and ex-High Sheriff of Gloucester. A great leader, he basically taught me the game of Rugby Union. When I arrived at the Old Boys I had never played and I played three matches before I even touched the ball. He stuck me in the second row and there I remained for my playing career.

Best thing and worst thing about your sport today: Rugby Union is a fast and furious spectacle in its modern form, but surely we have to remove some of the physicality in the constant attritional tackling. We will eventually run out of players with chronic injuries multiplying. My main concern is the grassroots game. A few years ago nearly all local clubs ran four teams, many of them, especially the 3rd and 4th teams, had guys regularly playing into their 50s and passing on their experience to the younger players coming through. In the modern game there is no place for these players and most local clubs struggle to run two teams. The lower teams were also the financial lifeblood of clubs, being the main social elements of the club.
In cricket I am worried about the drift towards T20 cricket. It is exciting but the longer form of the game must be preserved as well. There is room for both codes.

What are you doing now? Purely a spectator at Newlands Park and The Victoria Ground. Last season I handed over the job as fixture secretary at Cheltenham RFC after 38 years to Roger Whitfield. When I started the club played at the Athletic Ground in Albion Street.
My main passion is horse racing, which has always been there – “Horses are my real trade”. Since a boy I have nursed a love affair with the English thoroughbred racehorse. I worked in racing for over 20 years, initially for Geoff Turk when he trained at Whittington Manor, Chris Taylor for about 12 years at Old Farm, Bishop’s Cleeve, Rupert Ward at Minchinhampton, briefly for Bill Denson at Woodmancote and Col Gibson at Ham, near Charlton Kings. Being 6ft, my body filled out and I took on other roles as I was too big to ride out, starting as a stable lad, head lad and travelling head lad. Now I oversee the two family racehorses that the Edwards family own and have in training with Alan Phillips. We have a 10-year-old hurdler Boher Lad and this season he has won three races and been placed four times. We also have a young unexposed horse, Mr Standfast, who has been running on the flat. We see him as a prospect for the future. I also help my daughter Verity look after her retired old very succesful steeplechasers Halexy, who was trained by Jonjo O’Neill, and Kilbeggan Blade, who was trained by Tom George. Kilbeggan Blade is now with Jake Launchbury at Bourton-on-the-Water and is enjoying at 18 years a new career in team chasing. My whole sporting life has now reverted to my first love horse racing. It still fascinates me and living in Guiting Power and opposite The Hollow Bottom Pub, racing is all around me, night and day.

What do you think you will be doing sporting wise in five years’ time? The same – horse racing and watching Cheltenham Cricket Club and Cheltenham Rugby Club. I have also reignited my interest in coarse fishing. There is nothing like a quiet day observing nature on the riverbank! I don’t catch many but I enjoy the countryside.