ON FRIDAY (August 29), one of the city’s biggest names in sport will draw a line under his career when Worcester Warriors host Exeter Chiefs.
Ahead of his testimonial match at Sixways, Craig Gillies gave Observer reporter Geoff Berkeley an insight into his 11 years at the club which saw him become Warriors’ leading appearance-maker.
HAVING played 288 times for Worcester Warriors, it is difficult to picture Craig Gillies in any other colour than blue and gold.
However, it was in the cherry and white of Gloucester where Gillies relationship with Worcester began.
The 6ft 8in lock, who was on loan at Warriors’ local rivals while he struggled for game-time at Llanelli Scarlets, was playing in a second team match at Sixways when he first attracted interested from Worcester.
“John Brain was director of rugby at Warriors at the time and as an ex Gloucester man he started asking questions about what I was doing playing for Gloucester on a Wednesday night,” Gillies said.
“He then came and met me in the Celtic Manor Hotel where I had a really good chat about what they were doing and what the vision was along with Cecil Duckworth’s investment and I liked what I heard.”
And from that point on in 2002 the former Richmond second row and Brain forged a strong partnership as they aimed to establish Worcester as a top flight team.
The first mission was to reach the Premiership, which they did with aplomb in Gillies’ second season.
He played in every league game as Warriors memorably won 26 successive matches to secure promotion.
But having just witnessed Rotherham, who denied his side a place in the Premiership the season before, go the other way on the back of 22 straight defeats, Gillies knew the work had only just begun.
“The general pattern seemed to be whoever got promoted came straight back down the following year, so we were under no illusions that it was going to be a hugely tough year and we knew our main goal was to survive,” Gillies said.
And Worcester did just that as they defeated Northampton Saints on the final game of the season to avoid the drop.
Although Warriors went on to stay in the Premiership for the next six years, they continued to flirt with relegation – and in 2007, the club pulled off what Gillies described as a “miraculous escape”.
“I remember we were well behind Northampton at around Christmas time and we looked all but relegated,” he said.
“But John Brain then brought in Phil Larder who had a huge effect on the team. We just battened down the hatches and sides just could not play against us.
“We had this defence which just strangled sides, so we managed to claw our way back. It then came down to the last game again where we ended up running out convincing winners against Saracens to remain a Premiership side.”
Gillies said they had a habit of producing the goods when their backs were against the wall. But that was not enough to save Brain’s job, which Gillies admitted was a big blow to the team.
“It was disappointing and difficult to see John Brain go,” he said. “I don’t know the reasons why the decision was made, but it was the timing which was the most difficult. We had just pulled off a pretty miraculous escape where we discovered a lot about ourselves as a group and it was probably one of my most memorable times at the club.
“For me personally, I believe that if we had continued with John and Phil Larder that following season I think we would have been in a good place, but unfortunately that did not happen.”
Despite the change in management, which saw Mike Ruddock take over the reins, and Worcester’s demotion to the Championship in 2010, Gillies remained faithful to the club.
“There were numerous offers as I had been in talks with some Premiership clubs and sides in France at various times,” he said.
“They were all serious offers and they had to be considered, but I had to way up ultimately my values and beliefs in terms of what I had put into Worcester already and what I still wanted to achieve.
“And for me personally there was always an attachment to the club. Also, I was never in a position where the club weren’t offering me a new contract, so it was never a hugely difficult situation in my mind.”
During his time at the club a number of rising stars threatened to take his place, but on each occasion Gillies responded – either on the pitch or on the training field.
“I would have carried on until someone stopped me,” he said.
But, unfortunately, that day finally came. Gillies, aged 37, looked set to carry out a 12th year at the club after landing a new deal from the soon-to-be-axed head coach Richard Hill.
However, after several conversations with Hill’s replacement, director of rugby Dean Ryan, Gillies decided the day had come to hang up his boots.
“Although I had done three weeks of pre-season in many regards it felt like it was the right decision to draw a line under my career and start a new chapter,” Gillies added.
“Again, I had offers to join other clubs either on a part-time basis or at semi-professional level and even a player-coach role came up, but I simply could not see myself playing for any other club.”
*From next week (Wednesday, September 3), Craig Gillies will be talking exclusively to The Observer in a monthly column throughout the season.
Gillies’ ultimate Warriors side:
15. Chris Latham, 14. Marcel Garvey, 13. Dale Rasmussen, 12. Tomas Lombard, 11. Thinus Delport, 10. Shane Drahm, 9. Matt Powell, 8. Kai Horstmann, 7. Pat Sanderson, 6. Tom Wood, 5. Graham Kitchener, 4. Greg Rawlinson, 3. Tevita Taumoepeau, 2. Aleki Lutui, 1. Tony “Reg’ Windo
Replacements: 16. Matt Mullan, 17. Andre van Niekerk, 18. Chris Horsman, 19. Tim Collier, 20. Drew Hickey, 21. Werner Swanepoel, 22. Tommy Hayes, 23. Chris Pennell