After unearthing a bit of info about Phil Vickery’s farming pedigree, I’ve been asking one of my sports-mad mates about other stars with rural connections. Turns out there are quite a few.
The guy in the picture is John Jeffrey, a favourite of Scottish rugby fans and Kelso’s most famous farmer.
John was known in his playing days as ‘The Great White Shark’ because of his predatory instincts and his shock of blond hair.We also know of England cricketer Paul Nixon, who grew up on a farm in Cumbria, Irish cricketer Boyd Rankin and rally driver Marcus Gronholm (OK, he’s Finnish but if you’re into rallying you might be interested).
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Tim,
I see you must be an avid reader of the Arable Farmer Focus pages!
The farming connections of England rugby captain Phil Vickery and Scotland’s John Jeffrey bring to mind another famous player, Colin Meads, who played in the second row for the All Blacks in the 1960s. Also of a farming background, his training regime is reputed to have included running up a hill with a sheep under each arm. Well, the game was amateur in those days!