Tales from the Members' Bar

No.11 Ben Lewitt

As befits the son of a brewery owner, Ben was comfortable with a concept that includes the word, “Bar” and suggested we get the beers in. I took it from the large bottle of sponsor’s mineral water that he was holding that this was a joke. The bit about the heir to a brewery is true enough. The Warwickshire Brewery Company has not sold into the Malt Shovel yet (but it is in their sights) so Frooners will have to travel slightly further afield to sample the delights of a Naked Lady.

Perhaps I should explain it is a beer named for M'Lord Leofric's Lady who paraded around 11^th century Coventry in that fashion.

As you will by now have gathered, Ben hails from Warwickshire. Born in Leamington Spa and educated at Princethorpe College, Ben also played rugby for local clubs. His introduction to mini rugby was at the local village club of Harbury. By juniors he was at Broadstreet in Coventry and later to Coventry itself. Following in the footsteps of another well-known, blond, Coventry flanker, he turned up in Tigers' U21s and then on to the staff. Ben made his first team debut against Bristol on his 21^st birthday but had understandable trouble in breaking into a strong Leicester side with a really strong hand in back row forwards.

Tigers loaned him to Lions where Richard Cockerill was earning his coaching stripes. From there he took some of Dave Whelan's cash at Orrell. Probably the first time Saints' fans will have noticed him was when he scored the first extra time try for Orrell in that never-to-be-forgotten match at Edge Hall Road in December 2002. Nick Easter scored a hat-trick in that game. This makes Ben one of a very select few to have packed down next to both Easter brothers.

Ben was also part of Johann Rupert's project to create The Tribe. However, when opposition to the plan made it disappear like morning mist on the High Veldt, Ben was out of work and looking for another club. From one South African to another, Rudi Strauli signed him to Bedford. It was a good season for Ben and was topped off when Budge signed him to Northampton Saints.

He enjoyed his first season here and despite not getting too many opportunities last year, he is pleased to be involved in first team action again this season. He was philosophical about duty he does for the Wanderers and is another to endorse the standard and style of rugby played on a Monday evening. Mention of the Wanderers' match at Welford Road drew a wry smile. It was not good to be sent to the sin bin but it was his reaction to a deliberate head butt over the top of the ruck that was his downfall. The referee was unsighted from his angle and the touch judge...well, let us leave it at that.

With his contract (like so many others) up for renewal at the end of this season, he is grateful for any first team chances that come his way. Having started the last couple of games he hopes that the parts he played in Steven Myler's try against Bedford and James Downey's down in Cornwall will have caught Jim Mallinder's eye.

Ben is another of our players to find favour with the Rugby for Girls web-site - not that he had heard of it. He also has donned baby oil and boxing gloves to be Mr March in the Saints' calendar.

Ben has also played a bit of Rugby Sevens including being part of England's squad at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. It was while he was away in Australia that Ben found himself in a bit of a tricky situation at home. While training with the squad some time before, they had been asked to get involved with Channel 4's The Games. A sort of Celebrity Big Brother meets The Olympics. It was nothing but a break from routine, really but our rugby hunk, as the Sunday Mirror called him, made a bit of an impression the veiled face of Scottish Widows, Amanda Lamb. She was smitten. The difficulty was that Ben had been unattached at the time of this training session no longer was by the time the story came out (and he was on the other side of the world). The tabloid description of a group of people going out for a meal together could easily have been misunderstood. Fortunately, the burgeoning romance survived.

I have developed a theory that the players are colluding on the question of biscuits. Statistically, they should be repeating themselves by now. Instead we are going into fanciful realms to keep them unique. For the ninth time in a row we have a new biscuit to add to our collection. Ben's biscuit of choice is an iced party ring. You see what I mean?

arw

16.1.2008

Post scriptum ~ The boy in the photograph has still not been identified. I have laced my responses with clues - obscure clues, I know, but there they are. If you haven't got it by the Exeter match, I will have to tell you.

OSB

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