Life of Terry was worth a hit film all of its own
And now for something completely different. A long time ago, when I used to pen a column about celebrity rugby fans and former players and their love of the game, I heard rumour that Monty Python star Terry Jones, who died last year, was a very decent player and closet rugbyhead back in the day.
It seemed unlikely. The Python crew seemed much more football and cricket orientated on the sporting front and I couldn't recall any oblique mentions to rugby in their glorious sketches. You normally pick up on these little things.
But then I remembered the hilarious episode in Ripping Yarns – Tompkinson's Schooldays – which he cowrote with Michael Palin when taking a break from Python duties. In that episode Tompkinson used the distraction of a house rugby match at Graybridge School to run away, only to be captured a few hours later by the school's pet leopard which patrolled the grounds looking for errant escaping students. That was much more promising.
For a few years, on and off, I unsuccessfully chased the globe-trotting Jones and his agent for a confirmatory interview, left numbers for him to call, but the closest I ever came was a garbled late night voice message from what sounded like a very good late lunch in New York. Alas, no meeting ever materialised when he returned to Britain.
And then last week I was researching RGS Guildford for our School of the Week feature which appears on Page 36 and suddenly, staring back at me from a team picture for the First XV 1960-61, was a very familiar face. Short back and sides, no manic stare or laughter line but I knew that face from hundreds of hours' devoted viewing.
Thanks, incidentally, to Jennie Rothwell who braved the Arctic weather to trek into the freezing Coviddeserted school to trawl through the school archives on my wild hunch that Terry Jones might have played for RGS.
Terence Parry-Jones – for it was he – didn't only star in that RGS Guildford team, he was the skipper, posing proudly with the ball in the front row as is the captain's prerogative. I recalled from somewhere that he had dropped his hyphenated surname as soon as he started to make it in showbiz.
It's an intriguing snap. Most of the Coltish-looking team are having a good laugh or smile about something while one of the funniest men in history is striking a mock serious pose, the straight-laced, lantern-jawed, leader of men of comic book legend. Possibly already rehearsing a character from Python or Ripping Yarns?
Closer inspection reveals that Jones was one of only two colours – players from the previous season – in the line up. This was an exceptionally inexperienced side and you fancy his sense of humour might have come in handy during a trying season in charge when Guildford lost 13 of the 23 games they played with another three games drawn.
The school magazine notes that almost all the defeats were close and decided on penalty goals, stating that : “T G Parry- Jones captained a happy side with a fine example of determination on the field.”
Further research revealed that Jones had also been a prominent member of the First XV the previous season when he was the vice captain – the school magazine this time noted that: “TGPJ led the pack with dash, but perhaps not always sufficient direction.” Make of that what you will.
And there is more. Jones had also starred as the youngest member of the First XV the season before that in which the side lost only twice. This time the anonymous pen, presumably commenting on his rugby ability, noted that: “TGP Jones seems destined for a highly successful career. By training hard and working together, the success and satisfaction that must attend a real team effort was achieved time and time again.”
Frankly you wonder where he got the time or energy. He also captained the boxing and gymnastic teams and was a star man in the school shooting eight at Bisley. And did I mention he was also the school captain, editor of the school magazine, a role he also fulfilled with the debating society. Rugby was important but not the Holy Grail by any means. Sorry, couldn't resist.
“Terry was captain of just about everything at school as well as the First XV, he was incredibly talented and much respected,” recalls Air Vice Marshal Sir John Allinson, a young colleague in that 1960-61 team. “My subsequent career was with the RAF where we like to think we know something about producing leaders of men and looking back I can appreciate even more clearly his outstanding leadership qualities.
“He stayed on to apply for Oxbridge as I recall. He was also my house prefect, in fact he did everything. He was a great guy and was always going to be a big success at something although I'm not sure anybody at RGS Guildford quite anticipated the route he took.”
Jones did indeed win a place at St Edmund Hall Oxford, the so-called Rugby College where perhaps a Blue was part of the big plan. That though is where the rugby ended… and the showbiz, sketches, gags, TV, Python and films took over. He directed as well as costarred in the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and the Meaning of Life.
Above all else, this rugby tragic bequeathed to a generation of schoolboy players in the 70s the most annoying but addictive back-of-the-bus chant with which to while away bus journeys on away trips. Spam, spam, spam, spam. Spam, spam, spam, spam.SPAAAAAAM, lovely spam (repeated 100x or however long the journey took).
PS: As far as anybody can recall there was no leopard at RGS Guildford or indeed Palin's school, Shrewsbury!
