By Chris Gleadell
May 14 2002

On the day that the East Midlands take on the Barbarians at the Gardens we look back into rugby folklore and the story of BaaBaas President Mickey Steele-Bodger and his trip to Twickenham, to play in the Calcutta Cup match in 1947. Micky Steele-Bodger is today better known as President of the Baa-Baas but he is the subject of one of the great tales of rugby folklore. A story today's players should be reminded of now and then as they complain about a hectic playing schedule and payment for their labours.

The year is 1947 and young back-row forward Micky Steele-Bodger is selected to play for England in the Five Nations game against Scotland at Twickenham on March 15. Only two problems. The young MS-B was studying in Edinburgh and the country was going through the worst winter in living memory. There had been record low temperatures and record falls of snow.

Leaving nothing to chance young MS-B set off on Thursday evening from Edinburgh's Waverley station for London. Little did he know this train journey was to take 30 hours! As the train, which was packed, headed south, the weather deteriorated and the journey got slower and slower. Three times volunteers from the train including Steele-Bodger had to dig their way out of the deepening snow.

With Thursday soon drifting into Friday and with little progress made, MS-B telegrammed ahead to England HQ that he was on his way. However, at this time the train had only got as far as Carlisle. As this was in the days when train buffets had very little food, if any at all, Steele-Bodger had to rely on the rations he had taken with him, a tin of Ovaltine biscuits and a whole orange. No high protien and low carbohydrate diets in those days!

Finally MS-B's train rolled into London, two days later, on the morning of the match at 4am. He headed straight for the team hotel to get some shuteye before the game. You may think young Steele-Bodgers luck had changed but there was more to come.

Despite asking his roommate to wake him before the team bus left - he didn't! Steele-Bodger awoke to find the team had left him behind. He quickly got a taxi to where the team normally had their pre-match lunch to find the place closed. With nowhere else to go MS-B headed to Twickenham, got changed and waited for his teammates to arrive.

Of course after his three day 'ordeal' the powers that be didn't expect Steele-Bodger to play but after a slight, in Steele-Bodgers words, altercation, it was agreed he would take the field as planned. Suprisingly, despite the traumas of the last couple of days, MS-B lasted the full game and spurred England on to beat the Auld Enemy 24-5.

What should be remembered is that these players received no reward for their efforts. Indeed times were so hard in post war Britain that if a player required both an England cap and blazer badge to signify his international prowess he would have to pay himself for one of them.

So there you have it, a tale that perhaps some modern day players should be reminded of in these days of the 'overworked, hard done by ' rugby professional! Or perhaps we should just leave them all sleeping in their hotel beds! I wonder how many of them could make it on their own from there?