Latest news with #PaulGrayson
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Rugby Union Weekly Champions Cup heartbreak for Northampton in Cardiff
We're in Cardiff to bring you immediate reaction to the Champions Cup final as Bordeaux overpower Northampton to win club rugby's biggest prize for the first time. Matt Dawson and Paul Grayson, who lifted the cup with Saints 25 years ago, join Chris to pick the bones out of a thrilling and chaotic final. They discuss the impact of the injuries to Saints duo George Furbank and James Rahm early in the game and the countless TMO interventions. Damien Penaud scored twice to finish the tournament with an incredible 14 tries, but who else caught the eye for the new champions? We analyse Henry Pollock's performance in his first final and ask if Saints' run to the final was a one-off or whether English clubs can continue to compete at the top end of Europe.
BBC News
26-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Northampton Saints' kit man to mark 700 games
A rugby club's long-serving kit man is set to reach 700 games with the side this Buckby joined Northampton Saints as the kit man in August 2004 and will reach the milestone on Saturday when the team plays Bristol Bears. His responsibilities include preparing training equipment, managing matchday kits, washing kits, and setting up the dressing room."Game number one was at Bath in the Premiership and although I can't remember the score, I know we got five points," said Buckby. "It's a great job but, at heart, I will always be a farmer." Over the years, he has seen the club go through ups and downs, including Premiership title wins and six coaching changes, though he admits he rarely catches much of the action."I don't see a lot of the games - I'm usually cleaning up in the dressing room," he the team relied on local laundrettes to clean the after relegation in 2007, the club sought a more affordable option – starting with a washing machine bought from former player Paul Grayson's garage."It didn't last long and since then we've gone on to bigger and better things," he the club operates two industrial washers and dryers, running almost continuously to meet the demands of the team. Police escort One of Buckby's more unusual experiences came in Ireland, when he had to retrieve Courtney Lawes' forgotten gum shield from a hotel in Limerick."I had a police escort on a motorbike going through Limerick. I was back on the pitch in 12 minutes," he added that some players have particular preferences, with former Saint Andrew Blowers once wearing four pairs of shorts in a single for kit mishaps, he said there has only been one instance of a number coming off a shirt – Sam Matavesi's, and that was "fairly recently".He also revealed he is part of a Premiership kit men WhatsApp group. "It's mostly about washing and sharing ideas for putting numbers on [shirts] differently," he said. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
