Meeting a World Cup winner

As the black cab swung into the long drive of Pennyhill Park Hotel, Bagshot, Surrey, I saw this was no average hotel. The ivy-covered outer walls along with the open fire and lush, red leather sofa in its grand reception room, confirmed my suspicions. Why should this be an average hotel though? After all, it was housing 35 athletes and a managerial team who were the best English side for many years - England's Rugby Union team.

I was there to meet one man, Jason Robinson. His skills on the pitch, his private life and belief in God, have been well documented in recent weeks and I was looking forward to discovering him for myself.

At just 5 feet 8 inches you could be excused for thinking that Robinson would not stand out too much, especially as he arrived half an hour late for the interview, strolling down from his room, happily mixing with the crowd of players, press and RFU management. But you would be wrong. Jason did stand out - and not just because he was the only one wearing a suit! As we sat down in the vast gardens, enjoying the blazing sun, Jason wasn't too interested in talking about himself. Sure, he recognises his talent, and he has a huge passion to win, but there is something more important to Jason than playing rugby.

Early days

Jason's past was far from spotless. He was brought up in a small terraced house in a deprived area of Leeds, often witnessing his drunken father beating up his mother. He struggled at school and felt that he only gained some form of identity when he had hold of a rugby ball. He was fast, very fast, and people were starting to notice.

After the initial disappointment of being turned down by his home club, Leeds, it wasn't too long before Wigan Rugby League snapped him up. Things changed dramatically for Jason - he now had money, fame, and attention, especially from girls. At the time, Wigan were winning everything and the young Robinson was providing a further spark to the team. Even with all this, however, Jason had a problem - he wasn't happy. Not even his drunken 'benders' were filling the emptiness inside.

A good friend, but different

Inga T'wingamala, a rugby giant in every sense of the word, was playing for Wigan at the time and he and Jason became good friends. He remembers that 'because of the fog of my own despair, I could not help but notice him'. He knew Inga was somehow different from the other guys. He had true happiness, meaning and purpose to his life, beyond his rugby. 'Sometimes you'd go into the treatment room and find Inga reading his Bible. He would read it aloud. Inga wasn't chasing anything. He didn't go out drinking with the other lads. He didn't sleep around and he didn't have the best car in the car park. Why was he so happy?'

As weeks of friendship turned into months, Jason learnt of Inga's relationship with Jesus Christ. Inga talked and explained what that meant for him personally and Jason realised that it wasn't more money, a bigger house, or a faster car that he needed, but forgiveness of his past through Jesus's death on the cross. Jason learnt that only then can someone can be truly happy and have purpose in their life.

Jason's life, including his rugby, was turned on its head and had a new meaning. The drinking and drunkenness came to a halt, the swearing vanished and he began working towards rebuilding the relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Amanda, (now his wife). 'The Bible says you will know people who are Christians by the way they live and act - being a Christian is not all about do's and don'ts but about what is right and what is wrong. I love my rugby, I love the physical side especially, but in the end the Bible says that in everything we should do it unto the Lord - all I am doing is trying to do that. I live for him and that includes everything, on and off the pitch.'

Witnessing

Through the witness of Inga, Jason knows all too well how a good example can impact somebody's life. Not just by the things you say but how you live as well. 'I'm hoping to be an example to my fellow players just as Inga was to me. There are some in the game who choose not to say anything about their faith, but for me I feel that I should be going out into the world and being a verbal witness, just as Jesus commanded us'.

Some sports reporters have looked at Jonathan Edwards, the former Olympic triple jumper, who is quite openly a born-again Christian, with a critical eye, believing that he could have achieved more if he hadn't had other priorities in life. It looks like they will have to say something similar about Jason Robinson: 'Winning the World Cup is important to me. I get paid to do a job and my employers expect the best from me and in return that's what I give. It is very important to me, but at the end of the day it is certainly not the be-all and end-all. It's just a job. The Bible says that in all you do, do it unto the Lord and I am blessed to be in a position to do that. I pray before a game, not for a win, but that the game is fair and nobody gets hurt. I just want to bring pleasure to God and I feel I can do that by playing well and honouring him.'

Grace alone

His outlook on life is quite simple: 'It is only by the grace of God that I have been able to handle the pressures of being a Christian in professional sport. He has helped me through the good times and the bad. If I was told that I could no longer play rugby (for whatever reason), I would be hugely disappointed because I love what I do and I am involved with something very special. However, I would have to accept it as something from the Lord. He has given me a very blessed career so far and I'm very grateful for each day he gives me. When one thing closes, God always has something else for you'.

Jason's life has clearly been transformed. The simple but persistent witness of a friend proved the catalyst to his finding new life in Jesus. His startling pace is still there, but everything else has changed. His past is forgiven, his destination is heaven, and for now his purpose is to show and tell the difference that Jesus has made in his life.

Jonathan Carswell

© Evangelicals Now - January 2004
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