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RIP Simon Manister: 1964 - 2021
Steve Bird30 Mar 2021 - 17:46
Avon RFC are mourning the loss of former club captain Simon Manister.
After battling against cancer for several years in his inimitable style, Simon eventually passed away on 27th March 2021, aged only 56.
Simon achieved an historic first when he became the first person in Avon’s history to captain the Club for a period of 4 years. Having joined Avon in 1991 as an energetic, enthusiastic flanker, he was elected as Club Captain in 1993. Then, after a 2-year stint as player/coach, he once again took over the captaincy in 1996 and saw Avon narrowly miss out on promotion with 21 wins from 28 games.
During the following 2 years though, he oversaw a purple patch where Avon became the most successful team in the area. Forming a formidable combination with Clive Book as Club Coach, Simon was delighted when Avon became the undefeated Champions of Somerset 2 in 1998 and also reached the semi-finals of the Somerset Cup against all the odds, with an overall record of 24 wins out of 31. His record-breaking 4th year of captaincy was also a record-breaking period for Avon as they then won back-to-back titles by becoming Somerset 1 Champions in 1999, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the National Tetley Bitter Vase competition, just one agonising step away from an appearance at Twickenham. In recognition of his achievements, Simon was awarded the prestigious Special Services trophy in 2000.
But these facts, although impressive in themselves, don’t reveal the full story. On the field, Simon was a real warrior, always prepared to put his body in dangerous areas for the benefit of the team. Although not huge, he was a hard, physical player who was fearless in his approach to the game. Amongst the many tributes posted by his contemporaries, a couple sum this up well:
• “When I was a regular replacement for the 1st team, I remember Simon would often get taken out by the opposition and end up covered in blood, then whilst I was warming up to replace him, he would suddenly shake off the injury and just keep going. Nothing stopped him!”
• “I will always remember that away match at St Bernadettes, after being punched in the nose in the middle of a maul with blood across his face everywhere, Simon was smiling and laughing and screaming come on boys, drive, drive!”.
He was also an inspirational leader, with an uncanny knack of spouting mysterious encouragement to his team mates in a variety of foreign accents, sometimes talking French or South African – often in fact pure “gobbledy-gook” but uncannily these idiosyncrasies paid off as the team responded to his exhortations.
Off the field, he was a true clubman. He enjoyed the social side of the game and the camaraderie that it fostered. He would often tell outrageous stories with his inimitable sense of humour (that may or may not have been true) but his charisma and outward-going personality shone through. He had time for everyone in the Club from the youngsters to the old stagers as these memories again demonstrate:
• “When I joined the club, Simon was the first person to buy me a can of Natch, unsolicited and before a match – a gentleman, clubman and great character and fighter to the last, not forgotten.”
• “I’ve many good memories of Simon. He took us youngsters under his wing when we first joined Avon, and showed us the rugby way.”
• “I remember him doing a pack session when we were youngsters. He got us doing forward rolls across the pitch to disorientate us before playing a mini match... brilliant guy”
• “Really sad news. I actually believed him when he said he could reset my dislocated finger at Winscombe away……needless to say, it’s never been the same again!”
Hopefully, when circumstances permit and restrictions are eased, we will be able to arrange something in Simon’s memory to commemorate his life at Avon rugby club. In the meantime, a final tribute from coach and colleague Clive Book, remembering Simon’s famous call to arms amongst his players:
• “RIP my friend - if you get in any trouble up there, just shout Orinoco!”
Simon achieved an historic first when he became the first person in Avon’s history to captain the Club for a period of 4 years. Having joined Avon in 1991 as an energetic, enthusiastic flanker, he was elected as Club Captain in 1993. Then, after a 2-year stint as player/coach, he once again took over the captaincy in 1996 and saw Avon narrowly miss out on promotion with 21 wins from 28 games.
During the following 2 years though, he oversaw a purple patch where Avon became the most successful team in the area. Forming a formidable combination with Clive Book as Club Coach, Simon was delighted when Avon became the undefeated Champions of Somerset 2 in 1998 and also reached the semi-finals of the Somerset Cup against all the odds, with an overall record of 24 wins out of 31. His record-breaking 4th year of captaincy was also a record-breaking period for Avon as they then won back-to-back titles by becoming Somerset 1 Champions in 1999, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the National Tetley Bitter Vase competition, just one agonising step away from an appearance at Twickenham. In recognition of his achievements, Simon was awarded the prestigious Special Services trophy in 2000.
But these facts, although impressive in themselves, don’t reveal the full story. On the field, Simon was a real warrior, always prepared to put his body in dangerous areas for the benefit of the team. Although not huge, he was a hard, physical player who was fearless in his approach to the game. Amongst the many tributes posted by his contemporaries, a couple sum this up well:
• “When I was a regular replacement for the 1st team, I remember Simon would often get taken out by the opposition and end up covered in blood, then whilst I was warming up to replace him, he would suddenly shake off the injury and just keep going. Nothing stopped him!”
• “I will always remember that away match at St Bernadettes, after being punched in the nose in the middle of a maul with blood across his face everywhere, Simon was smiling and laughing and screaming come on boys, drive, drive!”.
He was also an inspirational leader, with an uncanny knack of spouting mysterious encouragement to his team mates in a variety of foreign accents, sometimes talking French or South African – often in fact pure “gobbledy-gook” but uncannily these idiosyncrasies paid off as the team responded to his exhortations.
Off the field, he was a true clubman. He enjoyed the social side of the game and the camaraderie that it fostered. He would often tell outrageous stories with his inimitable sense of humour (that may or may not have been true) but his charisma and outward-going personality shone through. He had time for everyone in the Club from the youngsters to the old stagers as these memories again demonstrate:
• “When I joined the club, Simon was the first person to buy me a can of Natch, unsolicited and before a match – a gentleman, clubman and great character and fighter to the last, not forgotten.”
• “I’ve many good memories of Simon. He took us youngsters under his wing when we first joined Avon, and showed us the rugby way.”
• “I remember him doing a pack session when we were youngsters. He got us doing forward rolls across the pitch to disorientate us before playing a mini match... brilliant guy”
• “Really sad news. I actually believed him when he said he could reset my dislocated finger at Winscombe away……needless to say, it’s never been the same again!”
Hopefully, when circumstances permit and restrictions are eased, we will be able to arrange something in Simon’s memory to commemorate his life at Avon rugby club. In the meantime, a final tribute from coach and colleague Clive Book, remembering Simon’s famous call to arms amongst his players:
• “RIP my friend - if you get in any trouble up there, just shout Orinoco!”
Further reading