It is even rarer to find them in rugby clubs where tradition is so often the enemy of progress, so we have been very fortunate to have had two such men at our helm for decades, John Cook and Ian Duncan, and now we have lost Ian.
‘El Presidente’ cared deeply for his family, friends and, of course, his beloved rugby club.
He battled with ill-health and the ups-and-downs of business, but he always looked for solutions to any problem and I never saw him demoralised or defeated.
In an age where so many young men are grappling to understand what it means to be male, Ian was a perfect antidote to toxic masculinity, representing everything good about being a man.
I leant on Ian’s wisdom and experience during the 35 years I knew him and especially when I became a main committee member in the late 90s.
I would go to him for advice.
‘An extraordinary ability to see the bigger picture’
He had an extraordinary capacity for seeing the bigger picture and somehow encouraging you to articulate your own solutions.
Sometimes I got counselled whether I wanted it or not, generally in Twyford’s Haweli restaurant, so if Ian asked “shall we go for a curry?”, I sort of knew I had stepped out of line, or we had both stepped out of line if Andy was included.
But on one occasion about 15 years ago Ian and I were sitting in Haweli and I was very downcast after a period of poor results and things not going too well generally.
I thought I was going to get a bollocking and I was certain I was in trouble when Ian opened with “for as long as I’ve known you, you’ve cajoled, browbeaten and pressurised everyone at the club”.
Now I was certain I was in trouble.
But when I asked Ian across the table he said “what’s changed?”.
In an instant I felt 10 feet tall and able to take on the world.
Ian could do that to you – it was his gift to me, and so many others, on numerous occasions.
My condolences and love go out to Margaret, who has been Ian’s rock for as long as I’ve known them and especially during his period of deteriorating health, and all his family and friends.
Ian is irreplaceable, but he leaves us a beaming example of a life well lived, and I will forever be grateful to have known him.
