Faith on the wing

The Irishnman, Andrew Trimble, has quickly become a household name in the rugby world.

Thanks to his speed, agility and tough tackling, the young rugby giant has propelled himself to the centre stage of both club and international rugby. As the Six Nations Championship drew to a close with Ireland’s defeat of England, Jonathan Carswell, caught up with him to find out what the real ‘Trimble’ was like…

Andrew dropped his kit bag to the floor with an exhausted look on his face. Along with many other nominal rugby fans it was only recently that I had heard of ‘Andrew Trimble’. Andrew’s rise to the top had been sudden and a little out of the blue.

He had been playing rugby for some time (starting out with mini-rugby in Coleraine, Northern Ireland) but it wasn’t until he joined the sixth form at Coleraine Institute that he really began to stand out above the rest. While playing for Ballymena he was spotted by Ulster 21’s scout before quickly signing on to a development contract for the senior squad.

‘It was good for me to be in an environment where I could learn from the more senior players in the team. I had loads to learn, and still do, so coming into the squad via the development programme was very good for me.’

I had been with Andrew for only a quarter of an hour, but already I knew this was typical him — down to earth, humble about his talent, with an attitude that just got on with it. His housemate, a talented rugby player himself, confirmed this to be true. ‘In many ways’, he said, ‘Andrew doesn’t realise how good he is. He always seems surprised when people know who he is or know his name. He just takes it all in his stride and gets on with it.’

Crunching tackles?

So what about getting ready for those crunching tackles and fierce handoffs? Does he find it difficult as a Christian to get ‘psyched up’ for a match?

‘All the swearing and fierce preparation you see on rugby videos doesn’t do it for me. Whether or not you are a Christian, if you are into sport and competitive you’re always going to have a fierce edge. But there is a fine line between gamesmanship and sportsmanship which requires you to tread carefully, and that’s why for me personally it’s really important that I get that right. As a Christian, the best preparation before a game for me is to sit quietly, by myself and read through Psalm 84. Part of that psalm says, ‘Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.’ It’s such a blessing for me to play for Ulster, and for Ireland, and I do love it, but I would far rather be in heaven, and that verse reminds me of the fact.’

But for now, Andrew’s ‘dwelling place’ is not yet in heaven, so how does he view his current position, as a shining star of Irish rugby?

‘It will be so much better in heaven, but while I have the opportunity to serve God here, that is what I want to do. I want to glorify him in all that I do. He has given me this gift of rugby, which I enjoy, but I want to give it all back to him.’

Christian family

So where did he get this radical passion for Christ? Andrew comes from a Christian family which played a significant part in his spiritual upbringing. ‘I vaguely remember making some sort of commitment when I was younger, but it didn’t make a drastic impact upon my life. Nothing changed really. It wasn’t until later on in school, when I was going along to the SU that I realised the guys around me had something about them that made them special. Something I didn’t have. They really inspired me particularly by the way they had “life in all its fullness”. I knew that that was something God promised his followers, and yet it was something I didn’t have.’ That was a significant time for Andrew; a time where he gave himself over to God completely. Playing a sport he loved, even that girls fancied him or all the drinks he could consume after a game could not satisfy and was not full life — for that was something that could only come through a friendship with Almighty God.

Opportunity to witness

Andrew holds his rugby playing career in very high esteem, not just as a job, but as an opportunity to witness. ‘I feel it’s quite easy in Northern Ireland to be a Christian and get sucked into only spending time with believers, as there are so many of us. If I didn’t have rugby I could easily just get caught up with my Christian friends. It’s something that I really don’t want to happen. Rugby for me is my mission field and this is why rugby is so precious to me. God has put me in an environment where there aren’t too many Christians so it’s a special privilege for me to be a witness there. A responsibility comes with that, though. God hasn’t given me this talent for people to think: “Wow, he’s a great player”, but he’s given me this gift of rugby so that I can share Jesus with these people.’

As we enjoyed lunch together later that afternoon, Andrew shared briefly about the difficulties this involves. While there is respect in the changing room for ‘his way’ of preparing by reading the Bible, Andrew described how a couple of players ridicule his faith as unrealistic. ‘There are opportunities to speak of Christ though. When you’re playing away, and sharing a room with a team mate it is amazing what you can talk about at night, when the light goes off! Sooner or later it comes round to the topic of Christianity and God. You get to know the guys when you’re away and there are some super chances to talk about God.’

Pressure

Rugby is a tough environment. As we talked about the situations he can find himself in when away with the players, his facial expression told of a pressure, which obviously takes its toll. To stand out and be different is essential for Andrew in his call to be a witness, but one which clearly is a drain on him. ‘It can be so appealing not to be Christ-like, but that’s just the short term. I have to live for something that will last, not something temporary. My friends have been a tremendous support. The number of texts I received after my call up to the Ireland team was unbelievable. I got about 300 in two days, most of which were encouraging me and reminding me of prayerful support.’ As he told me this, his face was brim full of excitement clearly showing that these encouragements spur him on his way.

As we rounded off the interview, Andrew summed it all up in these words: ‘At the end of the day, Jonathan, God has kindly given me a great talent; but I cannot boast in it, but it is for me to boast in Christ.’

It was just a few weeks ago, while talking to a group of friends that I had mentioned we should pray for more rugby-playing evangelists to reach out to these professionals (following Jason Robinson’s retirement from international rugby). It appears that over the last 21 years, the Lord has been preparing and planning such a man to be the answer to our prayers… Andrew Trimble — a professional, rugby-playing evangelist!

Jonathan Carswell,
youth pastor at Hamilton Road Baptist Church, Bangor, Northern Ireland

This article was first published in LifeTimes magazine and is used with permission.

An interview with Andrew Trimble

Crunching tackles?

Christian family

Opportunity to witness

Pressure

Main Articles

Other articles