By Paul Neazor

Samoan rugby has survived for years on the dedication of the people involved in the game and few have been more dedicated that Alan Grey. If there’s a position in Samoan rugby he has not filled it does not spring to mind and, on top of years of time given freely to the game, Alan has put more tala that he would acknowledge (or probably have a record of) into Samoan rugby coffers.  In many ways he is a patron of the old school, a man whose love of the game and respect for the people in it led him to make sure the union got a helping hand when it was needed. These days, in the more professional environment and with Manu Samoa Rugby Ltd looking after the finances of the test team, the budget is better balanced than it was but nobody should ever lose sight of the contribution this quietly spoken, immaculately dressed man has made to the game.

Alan Grey has been a lot more than a financial backstop, however, and would prefer to be remembered for any one of a number of significant contributions he made to the game. In his younger days Grey was the best first-five in Samoa, with great hands and superb balance. He played only two tests against Tonga but would have played a lot more had he not retired early from the game. He was also a fearless tackler, despite his lack of size. Lance Eves, the test halfback in the late 1950s and later a well-known doctor in downtown Apia, remembered his second and, as it turned out, last test, the third of the 1957 series. “He didn’t drop a ball all day, although under extreme pressure. Take it from me, his handling was immaculate – I know, because I threw him some rubbish that day!” 

He had all the skills, although he stopped playing when he married which meant he only had the one test season. His mother Aggie was his biggest fan and better protection than a pair of 18-stone flankers. She could accept the rough and tumble of rugby without demur – and Samoan rugby was rough, tough and rugged in those days - but subjecting her favourite player to a bit of wanton violence was another story. Then her voice would be heard all over Apia Park: “THAT’S MY SON!” A man had to be one of four things to ignore that warning: 1) totally deaf; 2) new to the country; 3) incredibly brave or 4) just plain stupid. Few people ever ignored Aggie Grey and Samoan rugby players were no exception. Alan still got his fair share of bangs and bruises but not many were from sly, or not so sly, off-the-ball tactics.