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Unsung Hero: Denise Thompson, Gloucester Old Boys

Author: Roger Jackson, Posted: Wednesday, 27th October 2021, 09:00

Denise Thompson with her sons Ben, left, and Sam

There are no prizes for guessing where Denise Thompson will be this Saturday or on any other Saturday for that matter during the rugby season.

Those who know her will not be guessing, of course, because they’ll know that the 48-year-old will be working tirelessly for Gloucester Old Boys, the club she loves, making sure the match-day experience at the Gloucestershire One North club is as good as it can be.

And if the 1^st XV are away, it makes little difference because she’ll be working just as hard for the club’s 2^nd XV.

Denise is the club’s vice-chairman and she says: “It’s a role that comes with a lot of responsibility.”

That includes shifts behind the bar, preparing food both hot and cold, and just being an all-round good egg.

Fortunately, Denise has plenty of family support with her two sons – Ben and Sam – both on the committee.

Ben, 30, is the club’s treasurer and 25-year-old Sam is bar manager, with Denise adding: “Between us we cover quite a lot of roles.”

It was through the boys that Denise first became involved with Gloucester Old Boys in the mid-noughties.

“Initially it was through Ben,” recalled Denise, who lives in Abbeymead. “He was 15 and was looking for somewhere to play rugby.

“We’d spotted that Gloucester Old Boys had started a team in his age group and he decided to give it a go, he’s been there ever since.”

Sam was more interested in football at this stage but fortunately there were a couple of parents who wanted to start a team in his age group as well and it’s all gone on from there.

And they’ve certainly made a big impression with Ben, a prop, a regular in the 1st XV while Sam, who plays at scrum-half or inside centre, has also been a regular in the past.

“Sam’s taking a year out from playing,” explained his mum. “He kept dislocating his shoulder and he’s since had surgery.”

Injuries are very much part and parcel of rugby, of course, as are the unsung heroes like Denise who do so much to keep clubs going.

“When the boys started as juniors I was on the youth committee,” explained Denise. “There weren’t many of us. Three or four years in I became youth chairman, which put me on the club’s main committee. I’ve been involved pretty much ever since.”

Denise did take a break a couple of years ago, but was a still a regular at Gloucester Old Boys to cheer on her two boys and returned to the position of vice-chairman when the position became vacant again.

“I’ve always stood on the sidelines watching my boys play sport,” said Denise. “They used to play football before they played rugby.

“I can count on two hands the number of their matches we’ve missed. They need all the support they can get and I love watching them play.”

And her dad Dennis Anderson is a big supporter of the boys too.

“He’s been a big part of it,” said Denise. “If they’re playing in different games I’ll watch one of the boys and my dad will watch the other. We’ve been doing it for years.”

Since the late 1990s to be exact, because Ben started playing football for Longlevens at the age of six.

Of course, Denise was a major part of that club for a long time too because she was youth chairman for 10 years.

“I made the choice that I wanted to give my boys as much experience of life as I can and to support them in whatever they were doing,” she explained.

“I followed my dad’s lead. When I was young I did ballet and my dad always supported me. As a mum I remember that and now I want to give the boys my time.”

And it’s not just Ben and Sam, because Gloucester Old Boys are very lucky to have Denise’s support, too.

“As a club I think we’ve been quite lucky,” said Denise. “We were given an RFU winter survival grant and we were able to break even during lockdown. We were very, very lucky.”

On the pitch things are looking good too.

“The players are really focused and there’s a real good spirit,” continued Denise. “We’re getting good numbers to training – 20 to 25 – and we’ve just about got enough players to get a 2^nd XV out.”

And what about Denise, does she have any ambitions to take over as chairman of the club?

“I think I’m quite comfortable with vice-chairman, I don’t want the top job,” she said. “Our chairman Shane Bubb is Gloucester Old Boys born and bred.

“He played through the ranks and if you cut him open he’d be claret, gold and blue.”

But while Denise doesn’t want the top job, she thinks she may know a couple of people who could well be interested in becoming chairman in years to come.

“I think the boys might like the job one day,” she said.

And if that happens, the club will surely be in very good hands for years to come.

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