When it came to his beloved Elthamians, nothing was too much trouble for hugely popular former chairman Nick Burne, who sadly passed away on Saturday at the age of 70 at the Princess Royal Hospital following a short illness.

As a one time player, referee, touch judge, physio, water bottle carrier, minis chairman, players’ taxi service and bar-room bon viveur, it’s fair to say the Hoggs Back brewery sales manager had pretty much seen and done it all by the time he stepped down as senior club chairman at the end of the 2018/19 season.

Indeed, after his beloved wife Joan, children Chris and Kate, and grandchildren, Johnny, Tom, Thomas, Joshua and Alexander, whom he never tired of proudly talking about, OERFC was the great love of his life and he devoted countless hours to supporting the club on touchlines up and down the country.

Even after his 23-year tenure as club chairman came to an end, Nick’s love for, and commitment to, the club and to the sport in general remained undimmed and he would regularly call various OEs members for rugby chat and gossip throughout the bleak lockdown days, always bemoaning the lack of match action.

A former pupil at Sevenoaks School and a twinkled toed full-back (his words, not mine!) for Sevenoaks RFC, Nick also refereed for 15 years when his playing days came to an end before he arrived at Elthamians in 1978.

A generous, loyal, kind and passionate man, he was never one to shirk a challenge and it’s no exaggeration to say his tireless devotion to the cause, helped keep Elthamians afloat during the 1990s after being thrown in at the deep end as chairman.

“It was at the annual club supper in 1995 when I had a drunken conversation with Johnny Mack, who asked me if I fancied becoming chairman,” recalled Burne in an interview three years ago. “I agreed to give it a go, not quite realising what a poisonous chalice it was at the time!”
The previous season, OEs had escaped relegation from Kent League One by the skin of their teeth in the last game of the season. “We won only one game that next season and were relegated,” he continued. As a club we simply hadn’t embraced the concept of league rugby at all. We were a typical Old Boys club where, frankly, playing the game was less important than drinking the bar dry afterwards.

“At the end of that first season, my reaction was: ‘Oh my God, what the bloody hell have I taken on?”

It was typical of, and testament to, Nick’s character and sheer bloody-mindedness, however, that he refused to throw in the towel and went on to oversee the most eventful and successful period in the club’s history.

Beneath the bluster and bonhomie, he was a tenacious and determined man who cared passionately about the people he worked alongside and the players, coaches and supporters who played for his beloved club.

His children Chris and Kate recall weekends as youngsters spent with their dad chopping up oranges and picking up the kit from the launderettes, before dashing off to the club so he could run the touch during the game (learning early on, that he could never be impartial!). And of course propping up the bar with the rest of the club stalwarts until mum dragged him home.

Joan’s belated appearance in the clubhouse bar every Saturday evening, comically stern, hands on hips, ready to drag a complaining Nick, invariably hiding like an errant schoolboy in the toilets, into a waiting car to go home, was a regular and eagerly awaited part of the Saturday afternoon ritual as much as the action on the pitch. It was to prove a recurring theme throughout his Elthamians career.

Even the not inconsiderable issue of chronic arthritis and two hip replacements in his later years could prise Nick away from the touchline. Ten minutes before kick off, regular as clockwork, he could be seen slowly shuffling across the College Meadow pitch, stick in one hand, pint in the other, foldable chair under his arm.

A fervent rugby aficionado whose greatest thrill was visiting the grand old clubs of his youth, names steeped in rugby heritage and tradition such as Rosslyn Park, Blackheath, Birmingham Moseley, Coventry to name just a few - Nick’s love affair with the sport had begun as an excited schoolboy watching in wonderment in the old wooden main stand at Twickenham in 1963 as his hero, the great Cornish fly-half Richard Sharp, scored a wonderful 40-yard try for England against Scotland.

Given his love of the game and its rich history, it came as no surprise that the personal highlight of his 43-year Elthamians association was sitting in the Richard Sharp Stand at Redruth Rugby Club, home of the famous Hellfire Corner, in December 2015 waiting for OEs to step on to the hallowed turf for the first time.

“Redruth are such a famous club, steeped in history,” he recalled at the time. “Hellfire Corner - the All Blacks have played there, the Barbarians and some of the best players in the world have stepped out on to that pitch. And I’m sitting in the stand thinking: ‘I’m at one of rugby’s most iconic grounds, in a stand named after one of my heroes who I watched play against Scotland at Twickenham when I was still at school, and I’m watching Elthamians. It’s a moment that will be etched in my memory forever.”

Every Elthamians member has a favourite Nick Burne story, usually involving rugby and alcohol - in most cases both! It seems impossible to imagine then an OEs side stepping on to a pitch without the immediately identifiable figure bellowing encouragement at the top of his voice, or loudly remonstrating, red-faced, with the referee from the touchline.

He leaves a massive void at the very heart of the club and will be greatly missed.

“I’d like to be remembered for helping players, members and supporters have a thoroughly good time, not only enjoying the rugby but having a good laugh along the way, which is so important,” he revealed to me privately as we sat together in the clubhouse after the final game of the 2018/19 season.

“At the end of the day, we all play sport and get involved with sport because we love it and I think that’s the most important thing to remember.”

Fine and fitting words from a fine man.
RIP Nick

Nick's family would like as many of the club stalwarts to attend the funeral as possible - preferably in club tie and jackets if they have them. Funeral details will be posted on the website in due course.