Old Patesians rugby players from yesteryear will be lacing up their boots again for what promises to be a very special occasion on Saturday.

Some 40-plus players, many of whom haven’t played for a good number of years, will be running out at Everest Road in tribute to one of the club’s finest men.

Two teams – one captained by Jon Steckbeck and the other by Will Morgan – will play in the Taff Powell Memorial Game in honour of the club’s one-time president, player and all-round very good bloke.

The match, which will precede the Old Patesians’ South West One West fixture against Thornbury, will kick-off at 11.30am and consist of two 30-minute halves.

“Thirty minutes maximum,” laughed Steckbeck, a former fly-half who will be 47 two days after the game. It will be the first time he has played since 2014, a game that didn’t end too well because he broke his nose!

Steckbeck, a former pupil at Bournside School where he was taught by David ‘Taff’ Powell, will lead a side calling themselves Bournside ex-Patesians.

Will Morgan, a scrum-half, is calling his team Will Morgan’s Rest of the World team and among those set to play – or have been asked to play! – are some real stellar names from Old Patesians’ past such as Ralph Tucker, Greg Newcombe, Rich Harvey, Andy Day, James Pettigrew, James Stickland, Matt Dawson, Dave Parry and Ginge Miller.

And it’s fair to say that if they can play, they will play, such was the esteem in which Taff Powell was held.

“He was a genuinely nice man,” said Steckbeck, a plumbtrician who lives in Cheltenham. “He had no airs or graces. He treated everybody the same. He got on with everyone and enjoyed life to the full.”

Taff passed away in December 2020 and his two sons, Dave and Rich, are set to play on Saturday along with his grandsons, Joe and Will, and his nephew Jake.

And the fun won’t stop when the final whistle blows because the celebration of Taff’s life will go on well into the evening, which is just the way he would have wanted it of course.

“The back bar at the Old Patesians clubhouse is going to be renamed Taff’s bar,” said Steckbeck, who was a big part of Pats rugby back in the 90s and noughties. “Welsh international Owen Williams, who plays for Worcester, is coming down to pull the strings.”

Taff Powell was always great company, always had a smile on his face and always had a warm welcome for everyone. It should be a very special day and it may, just may, become more than a one-off game.

“We’ll see,” laughed Steckbeck. “Lets see how we get through Saturday’s game first!”

Bournside ex-Patesians squad: Molly Bennett, Dave Powell, Will Powell, Ryan Farrell, David Hughes-Jones, Ian Hopkins, Paul Scott, Dave Parry, James Pettigrew, James Aherne, Jon Steckbeck, Andy Day, Ben Spry, Ralph Tucker, Matt Norman, Matt Dean, Dave Johns, Phil Sylvester, Will Tyler, Ollie Day, Toby Tucker, Rich Price, Greg Newcombe, Mark Evans, Ollie Lawrence, Chris Penhale, Ben Wilsdon. Coach: Paddy Murphy.

Rest of the World squad: Graham Lake, Rich Powell, Joe Powell, Jake Whyte, James King, Josh Stevens, James Stickland, Pat Burford, Ginge Miller, Matt Dawson, Will Morgan, Andy Armstrong, Lee Mathews, Bruce Fenley, Dave Taylor, Dave Chaulkley, Stu Taylor, Gareth Jones, James Luxton, J Lewis, Dave Holland, Paul Sargison, Rob Kingscott, Henry Morgan, Tom Langton, Geraint Thomas, Simon Cook, Dave Kingscott, Chris Raymond, Rich Harvey, Ben Tupper.