In Memoriam
John Coughtrey (1931-2018)
Penarth RFC is saddened to announce the death this week, after a short illness, of its President John Coughtrey, also known in the District as Mr Penarth rugby. He leaves behind Olive, his wife of 64 years, one daughter Sandra, three sons Philip, Ian and James and several grandchildren.
Born in Cardiff in 1931 John Coughtrey went to Cogan Primary School and Penarth County School (Stanwell), but he had to leave after a couple of years to start working to help his mother. He started his apprenticeship with the then Sadlers Garage, across the Windsor Road from the old Police Station. In 1950, at the age of 18, he started his life-long association with Penarth club, when the bony and abrasive backrower became one of the fifteen local lads selected to represent Penarth & District against Cardiff Youth. This was the first ever attempt to raise a Penarth Youth team at the initiative of Penarth RFC club member Bill Jones supported by a group of far-sighted local officials, which included club treasurer Alf Smith, Committee members Gus Taylor and Police Inspector Tom Arthur, the legendary Wales forward of the 1930s, Town Councillor Alderman GV Williams and Mervyn Rahn, the then sports master at the County School. He was also a very good boxer and was selected to represent Wales cadets against their England counterparts before he started his national service.
“It was a good idea, but unfortunately it did not last long,” recalled Coughtrey. “We played only a few matches in all. I was playing in the back row, after which most of us went on playing for Penarth Athletic. Soon after that I started my National Service, but I carried on on playing. I played for the Welsh Army Cadets against the English Cadets and for the Royal Engineers against the Southern Command when I broke my leg. When I came back, Penarth had a very good back row, so I joined Penarth Athletic and captained them in 1957, playing the occasional match for the first team. I played with Terry Smith and JS Davies, and went on like this until 1958 when I did my ligaments and had to stop playing altogether. After that Lot Thorn got me involved in club administration.”
With James Lot Thorn as a mentor, Coughtrey became an increasingly important cog in the Penarth club administration. He joined the club Committee and became its Chairman in 1973, with John Musselwhite as Secretary and Peter Tame as club captain. It was a strange season on the field, with Tame leaving the club in October to join Glamorgan Wanderers and fullback Peter Griffiths taking over the captaincy. During his Chairmanship, Coughtrey entertained the new Barbarians President Herbert Waddell, in his first year as the chief of the wandering Barbarian tribe on Good Friday 1974. This was the first time since the beginning of the fixture in 1901, that the Barbarians had left their welcoming Penarth home, the Esplanade Hotel, choosing the Royal Hotel in Cardiff as their Headquarters instead. It was the beginning of the end of nearly a century of Penarth v Barbarians rugby. Coughtrey’s busy business life, he ran a heavy engineering business, forced him to step down as Chairman at the end of the season, but he carried on as member of the club Committee. He got involved in the planning for the club’s centenary (1980-81) as member of the Centenary Season Committee together with Alun Edwards, Ian Owens, Dot Wilkie Frank Wilson, Kevin Bush, Bob Lewis, John Musselwhite and Alan Stamp.
In 1985, he found out through his extensive business and family contacts in South Africa that a young and talented Northern Transvaal No8 Rudi Streauli was travelling through Wales before his National Service. He got him to sign up for Penarth for the duration of his stay and the impact of the future Springbok on the fortunes of Penarth club, at the time captained by Bob MacPherson, was instantaneous. On his debut against the visiting Swansea, Streauli scored two tries in a 26-9 win, the first Penarth success in 12 years. Sadly, the 1986 Good Friday brought about the end of the Barbarians fixture, while ten years later the game turned professional. Although it was time for the old campaigners to step down from active duty, he carried on helping his beloved Penarth Club. “No job was too small for him and he supported the club 100% whenever was needed. He was a fantastic clubman, and as a child I remember him working with my father Roy. He will be sorely missed by all of us at Penarth RFC,” said Penarth RFC Chairman Mike Gooding, As recognition of his immense contribution to the club’s prosperity and wellbeing in 2006 he was elected the club’s 17th President, after the death of his predecessor, club stalwart Kevin Bush.
