Match 27: Toulouse Olympique (Away)
fevnut's musings
Vince Farrar - absolute
legend
There is a novel by Ray Bradbury with the title Fahrenheit 451.
451 refers to the temperature at which paper will automatically catch fire. It’s
a good novel but of even greater interest is Featherstone 451, 451 being the
heritage number for Vince Farrar!
Featherstone Rovers has had some wonderful people, many in the
Hall of Fame, but there is something which marks Vince Farrar out at the very
pinnacle of the club. It is a real pity that something as transitory as the
changing of the coach has occupied the minds of Fev fans when for years to
come, the passing of Vince Farrar, will be an even more significant moment in
the history of the club.
What was so special about Vince? A budding young hooker who
transformed himself into a prop-forward because that was what the club needed.
That was maybe the first example of Vince always being prepared to do what was
needed by Rovers. Of course, he went on to score a try at Wembley in the 1973
Challenge Cup final. Vince was the captain of the team that won the
Championship in the 1976-1977 season. Then, having left Rovers for Hull where
he captained their team to BBC Floodlit Trophy victory and winning the Second Division championship.
He returned to Rovers as coach in January 1981 and managed to steer Rovers
clear of relegation.
Vince would and did do virtually anything for the Rovers cause.
We used to wonder if there was a secret bedroom where Vince lived under the
main stand because he seemed to be always at the ground, ready to help with
anything and everything that needed to be done.
Vince had every reason to be proud of his achievements but he
was also the sort of man who would always chat to fans and we have so much
reason to be grateful to him for the time he gave talking to us, and educating
us about rugby league.
We believe that there should be a permanent tribute to Vince
at Post Office Road. Maybe one idea would be to rename the Post Office Road
end the ‘Vince Farrar Terrace’. It would be particularly appropriate bearing in
mind the timeline of Rovers history that is on the railings there. We have been
told (and we are not going to disturb the family to get verification at this
time) that Vince had his Featherstone Rovers Heritage Number certificate with
him in hospital during his final illness.
Rest in peace Vince Farrar, #451 and #1 in contribution made to
the club.
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Like most Fev fans we were appalled by the performance against
Halifax last weekend and we couldn’t even bring ourselves to have a cup of
coffee out of a Fev mug that night! Sometimes it is necessary to remind the
team what Rovers fans will do. On Sunday a whole host of us will be making the
trip to support the team in Toulouse. A trip that costs a lot of money and we
know that there are some who are sacrificing having a summer holiday in order
to afford to go to Toulouse!
We
write that because the team and the coaching staff should be aware and make
absolutely sure that they put in the level of commitment to match those of the
travelling fans. We want to turn up at the Stade Ernest Argelès knowing that win or lose, we’ll get a performance worth watching.
Toulouse will be going at it with everything they can muster. We need to be at
the top of our game to match them. Any lack of commitment and we could get
slaughtered.
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Welcome
to John Duffy. Been listening to the press conference announcing his
appointment and I am excited that we have a young coach whose playing career
was at half-back. I hope his experience will get our attack functioning and
bring out from the players their very best. Something hat seems to have been
lacking this year.
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