The Veterans team is a purely social team, made up of those Rugby players who cannot find other ways of staying fit in such an amiable and social environment.  Over the years Wilmslow Vets have established themselves as a traditional part of life at Wilmslow Rugby Club.

The Veterans are the stalwarts of the club, contributing magnificently to bar takings, and providing the choir with their renditions of the hits of the Everley Brothers, Roger Whittaker and Elvis!
The Vets (aka Eagles XV) was created in 1984 by the then 4th team captain, Mike Brown. That season, Wilmslow was awash with players, regularly fielding six teams and occasionally seven.  The Vets were not subject to the usual calls from higher sides, allowing a nucleus of ‘over 35s’ to establish themselves.

Vets fixtures, apart from local rivals, Macclesfield, were not easy to come by and the team relied on the ‘pool’ for games.  The Vets attracted quality players (dragged away from shopping!), many ex 1st XV or County, and grew from strength to strength.  Occasionally, the Vets were asked to fulfil regular team fixtures. On one memorable Saturday in 1988, the Vets went away to Westoe on Tyneside masquerading as Wilmslow 1st XV because of a Cheshire Cup game on the Sunday. We lost 35-3 but put up a good show and had an excellent evening!

The team lived up to the ‘Wah Wah’ stereotype, having been known to regularly to imbibe in exotic cocktails whilst bathing after a game and shocking the students of Manchester University by arriving in six BMWs, two Jags and a Porsche!

Since then, Vets captains have been Chris Oliver, Alastair Wilson, the late Paul Wilkinson, Rodney Bentham-Wood (star of the small screen!), Brian Coutts, Sammy Leach, Phil Marland and the current captain, Andy Rushton, Rick Sheldon & David Scanlon.  Many quality players have put on the Vets jersey including two British Lions, Tony Neary and Colin Deans as well as Great Britain Rugby League international, John Basnett.

We are now an international touring team with visits to Italy (1997), Texas (1999) and the Czech Republic (2000), Barcelona (1991), Cape Town (2002), Estonia (2003), Argentina (2004), Newcastle Gosforth (2005), Bratislava and Zlin (2006), a reprise of Italy in 2007, and a ‘Grand Tour’ to Chile in 2008.

Nowadays, we have a full fixture list against other Vets teams. Anyone living in the area is welcome to come down and join in the fun!

David Scanlon

Vets Captain

David Scanlon Vets Captain	Bryn Thompson Vets Vice-Captain
	* WPG2 CANNOT LOCATE GALLERY2 ITEM BY *
veterans.caption@wilmslowrugby.com 07950 410696	Vets.VCaptain@wilmslowrugby.com 07825 765510

Vets Fixtures and Results for 2009/2010 Season