A farewell to Captain Fantastic.
By Lindsay Clayton
August 24 2011
With Pat’s retirement announcement I thought it fitting to do a piece on possibly the most influential player Worcester Warriors have had on the books. I looked through wiki and other pages on the internet to give me inspiration for a review of his career and decided that I am unable to do his achievements justice
So how do you encapsulate the contribution Pat has made to the Warriors? I think one of the most telling reflections are that of opposition fans when they admitted to not being happy seeing his name on the team sheet and would really quite like to have had him as one of their players. I think Pat would be happy with that.
For me it will always be Pat’s unerring commitment in the face of overwhelming odds and his ability to make it about the team and never himself. Whatever he did as Warriors captain was, in his view, for the best of the team, whether you agree with his choices or not, you can’t say he didn’t have the club and the Warriors at the root of everything he did.
A superb ambassador for the sport and the club, with his work as Chairman of the Professional Rugby Players’ Association and as the players representative of the ‘This is Rugby’ campaign, he has worked tirelessly to make the values he sees in rugby at the core of how rugby is projected to the rest of the world.
Typically, when made Captain of England for a tour we all knew was going to be very disappointing, he faced down the questions about a the Captaincy being a poisoned chalice with a defiant reiteration of how honoured he felt being named as captain of his country.
To say I will miss Pat is an understatement, he has the advantage of being a back rower , which always get my attention as they epitomise, in my opinion , the very best that Rugby union has to offer, power, pace, skill and a real edginess which all of the best 6’s 7’s and 8’s have to have. Pat is always where the ball is, as good 7 should be. He gives every tackle, every pass and line break everything he has. Pat never took a step backwards unless it was to cover back for a tackle.
His genuine irritation at losing and other setbacks, coupled with taking them as a personal affront, always impressed me. To get him to talk after a defeat was difficult, you could see that he was hurting. But he always used those moments as an inspiration to do better next time. If he felt anything else he never let it show, well I didn’t see it.
It is fitting that he will be saying his goodbyes to the Sixways faithful at the first game back in the Premiership and that game being against his first Professional club, Sale Sharks. The Sharks fans that I know will be sat in their seats at 2:45 on Saturday 3rd September to make sure that they play their part in wishing him well.
Whatever he does now I am sure will be a success if he applies the same focus to it as he has to Rugby. I wish you well Patrick Harold Sanderson and hope to see you around Sixways in the future as you have as much to offer to the game of Rugby Union off the field as you did when you played.
Stuff about Pat
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:09:14:20:26:23 by Powick Eastander.
He set high standards for himself and others, and may not have taken everyone with him, but that he had the club at heart can never have been in doubt.
Thank you Pat for all your efforts - and good luck in whatever you do in the future!!!
Pat was by far my favourite player as Worcester. I will remember many things about the way he played the game. He also never stopped talking to players and kept others performing at their best.
Even when injured he would bring on the water to talk to and encourage players. As Lindsay said "if it helps the team."
Thanks Pat for making Worcester a great place to watch rugby. Goog Luck with all that you do in the future.