Billy Whizz on a bike
Robinson raising funds for kids like him.
He’s the only man to score a try in a Rugby World Cup final for England, Billy Whizz, who could run like the wind, with a sidestep like no other.
But he didn’t learn that pace and acceleration in training sessions. Jason Robinson, England Rugby’s first ever black captain, grew up on a council estate, where if you could run you could survive.
"I came from streets where you’d get chased by people wanting to beat you up. We’d get chased by a gang on the way to school. It was just the street life, part of quite a tough childhood."
More than 20 years after that world cup win he says: "Looking at the 2003 footage I still think: ‘Wow, that was me, a kid from a Leeds council estate with no history in rugby union. Being the only Englishman to score a try in the final, the only time we’ve won the World Cup, is an unbelievable honour.
"Wherever I am, people stop me to share their memories, where they were that night we played in Sydney, their own stories. Not just here but all over the world."
Awarded the MBE for that epic world cup victory and the OBE for services to rugby, Jason says: "There I was at Buckingham Palace, having tea with The Queen, meeting the Prime Minister. It didn’t happen to kids like me, kids who left school at 15 with no GCSEs."
And because it so seldom happens to kids like him, he’s spent countless hours in Yorkshire schools handing over his prized 2003 world cup winner’s medal to youngsters, telling his story, hoping it might inspire them. The box is wrecked, the medal is scratched, the determination to win, to see other kids on journeys to success remains.
He has created his own charitable foundation The Jason Robinson Foundation to deliver sport-based activities offering youngsters growing up in challenging environments like he did the skills, knowledge, and confidence to make positive choices and improve their opportunities in life.
And that’s why you might currently see Jason, who had never owned a road bike, pedaling furiously around Yorkshire or in the Surrey hills preparing for a fundraiser for the Foundation, a three-day 400km ride through Sardinia’s stunning scenery from 19-23 September. He’ll be joined by 40 other cyclists, each with a fundraising target of £2,500 - £5000.
His Foundation focuses on creating healthy habits and active lifestyles; developing resilience and turning negative behaviours into positive ones; the importance of respect and teamwork; making good choices, prioritizing physical and mental health; and being a positive role models.
With little left to prove in rugby league, Jason signed for Sale Sharks making his debut in November 2000. In the 2005/6 season he became the first player to have won both the Guinness Premiership, and the Super League trophies.
He was the 118th captain of England, the first mixed-race player and the first former professional rugby league player to captain England. In his first appearance as captain, he scored a hat trick in a 70–0 win over Canada.
He became one of the outstanding players for the British & Irish Lions on their 2001 tour of Australia, in the first Test win in Brisbane sidestepping full back Chris Latham, before scoring another try in the last Test. He was again called up to the Lions' 2005 New Zealand tour.
Jason didn’t know who Clive Woodward was when he rang up in 2000. "But the way he spoke about the World Cup just made me want to be a part of it."
Woodward’s phone call changed his life, but speed was part of "My natural defence, running away from people who wanted to attack me. Mum was a cleaner who worked three jobs. I never knew my father… I met him when I was 36. My stepfather was quite abusive to my mother. Rugby got me through a lot. It was my outlet.
"Everyone has challenges which can make or break you. Rugby gave me resilience and I had to fight for success. I didn’t have a father taking me to sport but, if someone was taking me on, I always thought 'You don’t want this as much as I do.’
"Clive said meet pressure with pressure. We had the best pack in the world, the best kicker in the world, a backline with a really good mix. For me scoring, thinking about where I came from, that was huge. Punching that ball, I could have punched my way through a brick wall!
"Our lives changed after the world cup win. Even now there isn’t a day where somebody doesn’t come up to me and say where they were. That’s such a privileged position.
"I set up my own foundation thinking if I managed to do it then how many more kids from those areas could do the same? A lot of them can’t afford a pair of boots, don’t have parents taking them to training.
"When I went to games all I ever saw was other people’s parents. It’s about breaking down barriers. Those kids have got something you can’t put into people, that fight."
