Gordon League – the oldest rugby club in Gloucester apart from the city’s flagship club – owe a big debt of gratitude to Paul Rea.

Not only was he an outstanding back row back in the day – one of the best in local rugby – it was Rea who encouraged the club’s current chairman Nigel McMahon to join the club.

That was some 34 years ago and McMahon has been a fixture at the club ever since, initially as a player before moving onto the management side.

He has been chairman for the past six or seven years and said: “I started with the club in 1984 when I was 16 after Paul Rea had spoken to my mother about joining the club.

“I’d played a bit of rugby at school but in those days I played a lot of football.

“I was a midfielder and I played for Matson Juniors.”

Ask him if he was a creative or destructive midfielder, he says with a chuckle: “I could do a bit of both.”

He was educated at what was then Saintbridge School and although football was clearly his number one sport at this stage, he had more than a passing interest in rugby.

“My uncles and older brother all played rugby,” he explained, “they played for Gloucester Civil Service.”

However, after Rea’s intervention, McMahon headed to Gordon League and he has never looked back.

A fly-half, he started in the club’s 4ths and 3rds and made rapid progress, so much so that he was making his 1st XV debut at the tender age of 17.

In those days Gordon League, who these days play in Gloucester Premier, were one of the stronger teams in the area and used to travel far and wide for fixtures in the days before league rugby.

“We didn’t play many local teams until the end-of-season cup games,” said McMahon, who was pretty much a regular in the 1st XV for 15 years. “We used to play teams like London Irish, Newbury, Henley and Basingstoke.”

And as you’d expect of a club that are celebrating their 130th anniversary this year they’ve got a very proud history.

“We were very strong,” said McMahon. “We reached the fourth round of the John Player Cup in the 1987/88 season, beating Headingley 10-0 in the third round.”

McMahon, a fly-half who could tackle – “That made a change,” he laughed – didn’t play in that game at Hempsted Lane but a certain Peter Winterbottom did.

For those who don’t know, Winterbotton was the tearaway back row who was capped close on 60 times by England and seven times by the British Lions, playing a good number of those games alongside Gloucester legend Mike Teague.

“It was amazing,” said McMahon, “the week before he played against us he played for England in Paris and the week after he played against Wales at Twickenham.”

Those were great days and when leagues were introduced towards the back end of the last century Gordon League, who take their name from British Army officer General Charles Gordon, continued to thrive.

“In the first six or seven years we went up five or six times,” said McMahon. “We progressed all the way to South West One which is the equivalent of National Two now.”

The last few years have been much tougher of course and McMahon says the aim for 2018/19 is to consolidate their position in Gloucester Premier.

However, there is plenty of optimism around the club with Nathan Carter, the former Gloucester back row, part of the coaching team.

Carter, now 46, started out as a youngster with Gordon League and is sharing the coaching duties with Ashley Stephens.

The club currently run two senior teams but they also have a vibrant youth section that is growing all the time.

“When I became chairman I started the junior section,” McMahon said. “We’ve got teams from under-6 all the way through to under-13 and we’ve also got a combined under-16/17 team.

“We’ve got 120 kids registered. They’re the future. If two or three come out of each age group into adult rugby then over five years you’ve got a team.”

McMahon is spot on of course but like all good chairmen he also has an eye very much on the present as well as the future and is obviously very keen for the club’s flagship team to go as well as possible this season.

Hooker Terry Joyce is the 1st XV captain this season – “He’s a good lad,” said McMahon – having taken over from McMahon’s son Jake, who is the new head coach at Old Cryptians.

McMahon’s other son, Luke, has also played for the club although he is currently travelling round New Zealand where he is playing a good standard of rugby “two levels below Super League”.

The McMahon name is a big part of Gordon League Rugby Club because Nigel’s brother Alan is secretary, fixture secretary and the club’s referee contact while Alan’s wife Mary is the treasurer.

All three are Gordon League through and through of course, just like the remarkable Jock Whitson, who still trains with the club every Tuesday and Thursday even though he is in his mid-60s.

“He was a second row and played over 1,200 games for the club,” said McMahon. “He played his 1,000th game in 1999 and in the 1970s played against England’s Bill Beaumont when we played Fylde in the John Player Cup.”

With people like Whitson, McMahon and many more around, the future for Gordon League certainly looks bright.