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Chapter 2
Ben Cohen and Professor Stephen Hawking
The last person in my life I would have expected to have introduced me to Professor Stephen Hawking was Ben Cohen.
The first time I met Ben was prior to a Sevens event at Henley when we were preparing on the Thursday evening on the main pitch at Franklin’s Gardens in May 1997.Ben Cohen later became a genuine hero of mine on the rugby field. It was superb to see him follow in the footsteps of his Uncle George, who had won the 1966 World Cup Final.
Almost ten years later, I got a call from him asking whether I might be able to help him with some events for his Stand-up Foundation. Ben had always wanted to do something to combat the damaging effects that bullying can have on individuals, following his father’s death, after he had gone to the aid of another man outside a nightclub that his father.
Bullying comes in different forms and Professor Steven Hawking attended an event which we helped organise at the Hurlingham Club on the 1st of May 2014. I had the pleasure of using the significant bulk that I had attained during my rugby career to ensure that he got to his table and was in the correct position. It was odd to see a man who would have huge audiences attend his public lectures, just be part of this evening, taking no formal role. We felt very honoured to have been part of a night that included two very different but highly accomplished individuals.
By Harvey Thorneycroft
Chapter 2: Ben Cohen and Professor Stephen Hawking
The last person in my life I would have expected to have introduced me to Professor Stephen Hawking was Ben Cohen.
The first time I met Ben was prior to a Sevens event at Henley when we were preparing on the Thursday evening on the main pitch at Franklin’s Gardens in May 1997. We had put together a good squad of players for the Sevens, which included Tim Rodber, Nick Beal and Matt Dawson. Ben had been invited to come to the tournament and was keen to impress. So much so that whenever I got the ball, he dumped me on my arse with some huge tackles. This wouldn’t have been so bad, but we were playing touch rugby. It was obvious from a very early stage that Ben would go on to greatness. He had everything he needed to play premiership rugby. He was over six feet tall and had superb skills and out-and-out raw pace.
He made his first appearance for the Northampton Saints, my club, on 10th September against Treorchy in the Anglo–Welsh league. I was on one wing, and he was on the other. He was seventeen years old. He was instantly spotted as a player that would become a future international and the first seventeen-year-old to be paid for playing rugby in the country. He made his Courage League debut against Orrell sometime later in March 1997 and I remember it well. We both scored tries that day and I was left wing, which was important in the context of the conversation that I was about to have with Ben on the way back on the team bus. Ben and I had a few beers together on the back of the bus and, as the alcohol set in, he started to chat about what his ambitions were for the future. It had been ten years since I had made my debut against London Irish and here I was sitting in front of a player who very clearly wanted my place on the left wing for Northampton and was ten years my junior. I distinctly remember him saying that he would give me six months before he took my place. He was naturally arrogant, which I believe is a trait that you need to succeed at the top level. It was like speaking to a young Matt Dawson.
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