Front row union: One of the oldest front rows in English rugby
If you have played rugby on the Wirral, the chances are you have come across one of the oldest front rows in English rugby.
Ally Jones (56), Graeme Kenna (68) and Gary McAdam (63) have a combined age of 187, putting them among the oldest front row partnerships in England.
The trio have known each other for the best part of three decades and first played together 15 years ago. Since then, they have scrummed together for Oldershaw RUFC and occasionally helped out at Wallasey and Hoylake on the Wirral, making them a set of recognisable faces in the area.
“There are three rugby clubs in Wallasey so in the local rugby scene we all know each other,” said Ally, who works for the fire service.
“There are so many older guys that I know through rugby – I don’t really know them, I just know them as the prop at ‘x club’, but we always stop and have a chat.”
Having spent most of their time together at Oldershaw, each member of this front row union started playing rugby under slightly different circumstances.
Ally began playing after being redirected to the sport, having been a rather physical defender at football.
He said: “I went and they gave me a ball and told me to run at kids and knock them over. The more I knocked them over, the more they said well done so I thought ‘this is the sport for me’ and never looked back.”
Graeme, in true front-row fashion, accidentally came across the sport. His games teacher had asked the class to split, rugby team to the left and others to the right, but Graeme thought he meant the teacher’s left and so ended up in the team.
On the other hand, Gary didn’t take up rugby until he was 31, having played football before, but joined a colleague at training after work and has never looked back.
“I always liked to watch rugby, especially the old Wales team of the 1970s,” he said.
“The school I went to never played rugby, but I always fancied a game. I just turned up and I just enjoyed every minute of it. The social side, the tours and everything, it’s like nothing else.”
Despite their different paths, the trio all share a deep love of rugby and what the sport can do for those involved in it.
As well as the physical benefits of remaining active in their 50s and 60s, rugby has enriched the social lives of all three.
Graeme, a solicitor, said: “In propping I found that I could do something that other people were grateful for me doing and was essential.
“It’s the spirit, the fact that you deal with a mixed bag of people – they might be outside your normal group of friends but because you’re on the pitch with them and you know their qualities.”
Likewise, Gary, who works as a joiner, found himself with a network of friends within weeks of taking up rugby. He did retire at one point, but it wasn’t long before he found himself back involved.
“I retired once because I had to play Warrington on my 50th as no-one would go. I swore that I’d never play again, until it got to September – I missed one game and came straight back.
For Ally, he has even made friends on the other side of the world through rugby. In 1994, he worked on a yacht in Australia & New Zealand and took his boots with him just in case.
He ended up playing in the south western tip of Australia and wore his Wallasey shirt. One of the other players, a doctor, recognised the shirt and it turned out that not only had he played rugby during his degree in Liverpool, he had even played against Ally.
“That’s just rugby for you,” said the tighthead.
“Wherever you go in the world, if there’s rugby you can go and start chatting to people.
“What I love about it is the social side. I think it’s great for development, particularly all the stuff going around at the moment about the ‘manosphere’ and misogyny, it’s great development for young boys and particularly with good role models.
“I’d like to think some of the young lads will look at pictures of me, Gary and Graeme and think ‘oh hopefully I can be like that in 40-50 years.’”
Graeme is also a source of inspiration in his own way, having returned to playing rugby despite having a knee and a hip replacement. It just goes to show his love of the game, but also that no matter what obstacles you face, you can always play rugby.
So far this season, they haven’t been able to play together, but they hope to fit in a game before the end of the season and put all of their nous and experience to use.
Latest community news
