On the Trail of the Girl who Made Jonny Wilkinson Cry
Mark Souster
Times Online
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London (UK):
The mystery of the identity of the young girl who made Jonny Wilkinson cry during a mini-rugby match 20 years ago took a new turn yesterday with not one but three names being put forward as the likely culprit.
In a story to publicise his new book, which is being serialised in The Times this week, Wilkinson recalls how an incident during a match for Farnham Under-8 helped to make him the player he is today. The opposition, he said, was well known for being the only team to have a girl in their line-up.Wilkinson was at full back when the said girl broke through but ran into touch.
Instead of stopping, however, she continued on around the outside of the corner flag and touched down for a try, which the referee, who was lagging well behind the play, allowed. “I burst into tears,” Wilkinson said. “I was starting to understand then that it wasn’t just about winning, it was more a way of life. It was the pure heartbreak of thinking, ‘No this can’t be happening’. I thought it was the end of the world. It’s just the way I am. Nothing has changed.”
We asked for anyone who knew the girl to contact us and three readers did so. Details were understandably sketchy and the claims difficult to substantiate given the passage of time.The first name offered was that of Clare Pugh, who played at Alton in Hampshire, where Jonny’s father, Phil, was in the veterans’ XV. Tom Cannon, a team-mate of hers all those years ago, wrote in. “Clare and I also went to the school,” Cannon said. “She was captain. I remember when it happened. I reminded Jonny of the incident recently at the opening of the new Hackett store in Sloane Square.”Clare, 26, was tracked down last night. She laughed at the memory. “Yes, I did play against Jonny several times when I was seven, but to be 100 per cent honest, I can’t say it was me,” Clare, who is an operations manager for a marketing company in Portsmouth, said.
“But I think it was.”Jerry, her father, has no doubts. “I can remember a really rainy day when Jonny was playing and Clare scored two tries against him,” he said.The second contender is Lucy Prichard Jones, who in the mid-1980s played on the wing for Horsham Minis in West Sussex. Yesterday Lucy, 27 and a solicitor in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, said: “The timescale fits. I was the only girl in the side and Farnham used to come down to play tournaments at our club. I remember several little boys cried when I scored against them. It happened a lot.”After mini-rugby, Lucy, who as a student was also a model, joined Richmond and then Harlequins but retired from the game five years ago.
“I couldn’t afford to have black eyes in my job,” she said.The final candidate was Anna Pratt, from Maidenhead, Berkshire. Her mother read the story and alerted Anna, who sent us an e-mail. “Yes, I’m pretty sure I’m the girl Jonny is talking about,” the 27-year-old IT worker said. “I used to play mini-rugby for Bracknell alongside Lewis Moody. And, yes, I was the only girl — which I loved. It’s great that after all this time I’m remembered by the Jonny Wilkinson and for making him cry.”
So who was that girl?
Ron Potter, who spent more than 20 years coaching at Farnham, believes that Clare best fits the bill.
Oct 19, 2005
Mark SousterTimes Online
__________
London (UK):
The mystery of the identity of the young girl who made Jonny Wilkinson cry during a mini-rugby match 20 years ago took a new turn yesterday with not one but three names being put forward as the likely culprit.
In a story to publicise his new book, which is being serialised in The Times this week, Wilkinson recalls how an incident during a match for Farnham Under-8 helped to make him the player he is today. The opposition, he said, was well known for being the only team to have a girl in their line-up.Wilkinson was at full back when the said girl broke through but ran into touch.
Instead of stopping, however, she continued on around the outside of the corner flag and touched down for a try, which the referee, who was lagging well behind the play, allowed. “I burst into tears,” Wilkinson said. “I was starting to understand then that it wasn’t just about winning, it was more a way of life. It was the pure heartbreak of thinking, ‘No this can’t be happening’. I thought it was the end of the world. It’s just the way I am. Nothing has changed.”
We asked for anyone who knew the girl to contact us and three readers did so. Details were understandably sketchy and the claims difficult to substantiate given the passage of time.The first name offered was that of Clare Pugh, who played at Alton in Hampshire, where Jonny’s father, Phil, was in the veterans’ XV. Tom Cannon, a team-mate of hers all those years ago, wrote in. “Clare and I also went to the school,” Cannon said. “She was captain. I remember when it happened. I reminded Jonny of the incident recently at the opening of the new Hackett store in Sloane Square.”Clare, 26, was tracked down last night. She laughed at the memory. “Yes, I did play against Jonny several times when I was seven, but to be 100 per cent honest, I can’t say it was me,” Clare, who is an operations manager for a marketing company in Portsmouth, said.
“But I think it was.”Jerry, her father, has no doubts. “I can remember a really rainy day when Jonny was playing and Clare scored two tries against him,” he said.The second contender is Lucy Prichard Jones, who in the mid-1980s played on the wing for Horsham Minis in West Sussex. Yesterday Lucy, 27 and a solicitor in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, said: “The timescale fits. I was the only girl in the side and Farnham used to come down to play tournaments at our club. I remember several little boys cried when I scored against them. It happened a lot.”After mini-rugby, Lucy, who as a student was also a model, joined Richmond and then Harlequins but retired from the game five years ago.
“I couldn’t afford to have black eyes in my job,” she said.The final candidate was Anna Pratt, from Maidenhead, Berkshire. Her mother read the story and alerted Anna, who sent us an e-mail. “Yes, I’m pretty sure I’m the girl Jonny is talking about,” the 27-year-old IT worker said. “I used to play mini-rugby for Bracknell alongside Lewis Moody. And, yes, I was the only girl — which I loved. It’s great that after all this time I’m remembered by the Jonny Wilkinson and for making him cry.”
So who was that girl?
Ron Potter, who spent more than 20 years coaching at Farnham, believes that Clare best fits the bill.
Oct 19, 2005
