Former England prop and Exeter coach Robin Cowling dies, aged 82

Former England prop Robin Cowling has died aged 82 after a lifetime devoted to rugby.

Capped eight times by England in the 1970s, Cowling won four National Cups, one with Gloucester and three with Leicester, as well as playing in four County Championship finals for Gloucestershire.

Cowling made his international debut in a 26-6 win over Scotland in 1977, in a front row containing Peter Wheeler and Fran Cotton.

He credited the move to Leicester in 1974 for the improvements that led to Test recognition.

“I got all my caps while I was there playing under Chalkie White, who was a real innovator. While other clubs were still having oranges at half-time Chalkie was dabbling in sports science,” he told me in an interview in 2015.

“I remember he weighed us before and after games and found out we were dehydrating during matches. I can still taste the horrible green liquid he made us drink!”

Memorably, he played half of a game against France, a 15-6 defeat at Parcs des Princes in 1978, with a dislocated shoulder.

“By then six replacements were allowed but crazily you were only allowed to use two – by doctor’s agreement,” he explained.

“As Andy Maxwell and Peter Dixon had already gone off we’d have been down to 14 men if I’d left the pitch, too.

“Fellow prop Mike Burton said, ‘you can’t go off, you’re one of us’, so I put my hand in my pocket and carried on. It probably wasn’t the wisest thing I’ve ever done.”

On retiring, Cowling never regretted his decision to move to Cornwall in 1987 after buying a farm near Helston.

Despite being born in Suffolk and living and playing elsewhere, Cornwall and Cowling were a great fit and it wasn’t long before he was back in rugby, coaching the county’s U21 side and some local clubs.

After a brief stint at Exeter, Cowling ran the RFU’s South West’s Academy before re-joining the Chiefs, as a scrum coach initially, and then team manager and academy manager, helping to bring through the likes of Luke Cowan-Dickie and Henry Slade.

Cowling had a strong relationship with the Baxter family, having played against director of rugby Rob Baxter’s dad, John, on several occasions, and then working with Rob at the Chiefs for many years.

Paying tribute to Cowling, Baxter said: “I cannot express enough how much Robin contributed to the success we have had as a club and to the success some young players, in particular those from Cornwall, have had because of his absolute determination to get the best out of people.

“My first experience with Robin was when he would bring young players up from Cornwall to train with the senior group. The amount of time he was prepared to invest in them to give them an opportunity to become professional players was admirable.

“Several of those players went on to become internationals and even British and Irish Lions. I have been receiving messages for several days from players who know he changed their lives, there really can be no bigger compliment than that.

“Personally, Robin and I had a great relationship. He was a no-nonsense type of man who appreciated hard work and sacrifice to the important things. He played a huge part in my transition into the head role at the club.

“I was very fortunate to work with him for several years and we had some great moments. Achieving promotion to the Premiership and then beating one of his old clubs (Gloucester) in our first fixture are just two highlights, but there are also our early trips to France in the European competitions which will always stand out to me.

“He is a great loss to the rugby community, particularly to Cornwall and he will be greatly missed by us all.”