A little on Gavin Cowley;
Considered by many to be one of the unluckiest rugby players not to
wear the green and gold, he was selected to the Springbok squad for the
third and fourth test matches in the 1974 British Lions series at the
age of 20 and again for the 1976 series against the All Blacks, but sat
on the bench, never running onto the field to earn what would have been a
well deserved cap. Despite his flair for distribution of the ball,
speed through a gap and a mature ability to adjust himself to the state
of the game, the supreme honour was not accorded him.
He played in several Junior Springbok, SA Invitation and
Quagga/Barbarian matches against International opposition. Probably the
most well-remembered game was when Gavin played at centre with Peter
Kirsten as his flyhalf in the Quaggas/British Lions game in 1974. The
referee, who was heavily criticized (particularly by the partisan Ellis
Park crowd) disallowed a Cowley try which ultimately cost the home team
the game 20 – 16. Gavin also played in the Quagga/ Barbarians 32 – 31
loss to the 1976 All Blacks at the old Ellis Park, which Gavin rates as
his best game ever.
One of the highlights of his career was playing for a World XV
against Cardiff in Wales as part of the club’s centenary celebrations.
Gavin played in many famous games, including the “Battle of the Boet
Erasmus” free-for-all – in the Lions match against Eastern Province in
1974. It was Gavin’s third appearance for Eastern Province as a
20-year-old. As the forwards started a free for all, the legendary
Lions’ fly half, Phil Bennett, trotted across to Gavin, flung his arm
around Gavin’s shoulder and said: “Never mind, lad, we’re quite safe
where we’re standing now!”
Gavin also excelled on the cricket field. One of his finest
performances was achieved in 1976, when EP beat Western Province in the
Gillette Cup Final at the Wanderers, with Gavin winning the bowling
prize for his figures of 6 for 32. The Eastern Province team was a very
strong one in this era (Bezuidenhout, Wilkins, McEwan, Pollock G,
Wilmot, Bestall, Cowley, Brickett, Edmonds, Schmidt and Watson ) Gavin
must be rated as one of Grey High School’s greatest allround sportsmen.
