Bob Hanney, who has recently passed away, had a long association with Cinderford Rugby Club. A pupil at East Dean Grammar School, Bob went on to St Paul’s College Cheltenham to qualify as a teacher and became Sports Master at Sir Thomas Rich’s School in Gloucester.
Bob became Cinderford RFC’s first ‘proper’ coach in the mid 1970s at a time when Rugby training usually meant two laps round the pitch, a couple of sprints and a short game of touch-rugby followed by several pints. He was ahead of his time and his regime of lung bursting physical exercise followed by gruelling practice sessions came as a shock to many. So did his analysis of players, team performances and the introduction of choreographed plays where Cinderford’s players, captained by Dennis Hargreaves, were quick to analyse situations and turn them to their benefit through attacking moves that had been practiced over and again on training nights. A very successful 1975/76 season was followed by a record breaking one in 76/77 where the clubs 1st XV won 33 out of 36 matches. A win/ loss ratio that held until 2017/18.
Bob continued to support Cinderford through the years and as a regular at Dockham Rd was especially pleased when rugby resumed last season after the travails of Covid.
Bob’s funeral will take place on at 2pm on Wednesday 24th August, at Gloucester Crematorium.