QLD Premier Rugby: A family affair at GPS
By Michael Atkinson. Photo: News Corp
Like the famous transport slogan says, “without trucks, Australia stops moving”; so too could the same logic apply to families and club rugby.
The Richards family at G.P.S. Old Boys Rugby club in Brisbane’s inner-west suburb of Ashgrove are part of a large collection of families in the area who’ve helped keep the club moving. Their association with the ‘Jeeps’ dates back 20 years when the first of six sons - in a family of 8 children, 6 boys and two girls - started playing juniors.
“The outlet here for young families to enjoy themselves is enormous” said patriarch of the family, John.
“It’s a local community, your local club, good people, good times, and the rugby is good – but that was sort of secondary.”
As the family grew, the natural progression was for the younger boys to spend their weekends running around in the green and blue, building a love for the game and, more importantly, building lifelong friend