CANTERBURY ENGLAND ULTIMATE XV – MARK WOMBWELL, AMATEUR PLAYER AND FAN
52-year-old Mark Wombwell has been involved in rugby from an early age. One of his earliest
memories of the game was being made captain of his school rugby team aged 12, and it was there
that he honed his skills and developed his passion for the game.
“My biggest influence, and the person who helped me the most was probably my PE teacher at
boarding school, Steve Austin, who would often spend a couple of evenings each week with me
practicing kicking from hands and the floor and drop goals.”
From those early days, Mark went on to play for Braintree’s 1st XV for around 17 years, and also
represented his county, Essex at both Under-21 and senior level, and still plays today for his club as
part of the veterans team.
In that time, Mark has amassed many hundreds of appearances, but the one that stands out most is
a clash against a formidable Leicester team, which boasted the likes of Dean Richards, Paul Dodge
and Steve Redfern. With temporary seating erected, a crowd of around 4,000 people turned out for
the game, which marked Braintree’s silver jubilee.
As well as being passionate about playing the game, Mark is also a fanatical fan of the England team,
and has followed the team around the world over the years. His most memorable trip of all came in
2003, when he took a month off work to follow England in Australia, where he witnessed the team’s
unforgettable Rugby World Cup triumph.
“A mate and I followed England from the quarter final right to the final, including a helicopter pub
crawl on the day of the semi against France!” said Mark. Recalling the final clash against the host
nation, he said: “We were seated right in the corner where Jason Robinson scored his try, and will
always remember the moment the whistle went, going mad and just cuddling anyone in a white
shirt!”
Mark is proud to support Canterbury’s ‘England Is All’ campaign, and is pleased to see the game at
all levels being honoured. “The grassroots game is massive. Our Braintree club has about 400 kids
turning up every Sunday.”
And who knows, perhaps Mark could be supporting some of them wearing a white shirt in the years
to come?