Double gold medalist Matt Weston was 'remarkable, explosive' rugby player

Sevenoaks director of rugby Adam Bowman admits it could now be difficult to tempt double skeleton Winter Olympic gold medallist Matt Weston to pull on a Gold and Navy shirt once again.

The Kent-based National League Two East club has an illustrious alumni that includes Lions Ben Earl and Andrew Titterrell, as well as England internationals David Flatman and Tom May.

But they have found themselves thrust into the spotlight after Weston became the first Briton to win two golds at the same Winter Olympics, after adding the team crown with Tabby Stoeker to the men’s individual title.

Bowman says he couldn’t be prouder of the Olympic hero, whom he gave his first-team debut on the wing in a clash with Maidstone nearly a decade ago and who scored two tries in three first-team matches.

“We’re all so proud of him. It’s a truly phenomenal achievement. I can hope that one day we can get him back, putting on the navy and gold and playing at The Paddock, but I think it might be difficult.

“Funnily enough, I dug out an old team sheet where he started on the wing for us against Havant on the 8th of October 2016. I think he joined us in 2014. He came through our academy set-up and into the seniors.

“He was a talented player and a talented athlete, but what really stood out about him as a person was that he was very personable, very likeable, humble, you know, fitted in really well into the squad.

“But when he went on the pitch, he was a real competitor, he had that steely determination, that real competitive edge, you know, that drive to kind of you know, to get better, to push, to compete and win,” Bowman told RugbyPass.

Weston, who was born in Redhill but grew up in Sevenoaks, also played for Kent and for the Saracens Academy before being picked up by UK Sport’s Discover Your Gold talent-spotting scheme.

And Bowman says that explosive running, which he used to get a good start in the skeleton, was very evident from his time on the rugby pitch.

“You could see he was quite a remarkable athlete, even at a young age, he was very quick, very powerful and explosive off the mark.

“And with all of those attributes, when he was younger, you could see that he had the potential to go on and achieve what he has achieved as an athlete,” he added.

While his former PE teacher, Justin Singleton, who is now head of sport at Weston’s former school, the Bennett Memorial Diocesan School in Tunbridge Wells, thought that he would go far in rugby.

“You’ve got a lot of lads, twice your size, running at you on a rugby field, you’ve got to have a lot of bravery, time and time again. He was, in that respect, fearless,” he told ITV.