On 11 December 1984, Cambridge University beat Oxford in the annual rugby Varsity match by a whopping 32 points to 6, the biggest winning margin in the competition since 1950. It is unlikely, though, that two of the main architects of that victory, fly-half Rob Andrew and full-back Gavin Hastings, could have anticipated the sporting glory that was to come their way (third highest English rugby points scorer and highest Scottish rugby points scorer, respectively). Once their hangovers had subsided, they both had their Land Economy degrees to bring them back down to earth.
There has long been a link between rugby and the property profession. In fact, Rob Andrew, now in the top job in the sport as Elite Director of rugby at the RFU, went on to become a Chartered Surveyor, working at DTZ in London and qualifying as a fully-blown MRICS; the Scottish head of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is none other than the legendary Scottish full-back from the 1970’s, Andy Irvine; and All Black great Zinzan Brooke runs a property company in Windsor.
With rugby being an amateur sport until 1996, many players had to follow a career and property was a popular option. Even today, this remains the case and the annual Surveyor’s Sevens tournament at Richmond is one of the biggest sporting events of the year for RICS members.
This year, property consultants King Sturge emerged victorious for the third year in a row, perhaps something to do with the presence in the team of Eric Peters, the former Scotland Number 8 and now a senior associate in King Sturge’s London office. Peters puts the close affinity between rugby and property down to a number of factors.
Good grounding
“Rugby, or really sport in general, gives a good grounding for those who want to work in the property profession as it requires a person to get involved in activities and to be driven, competitive and social. There are many analogies that relate to sport and business, the main one, of course, being teamwork. But people who succeed at sport also tend to be highly motivated individuals who are determined to achieve in whatever they do. I think it creates a more rounded person.”
Peters himself is an example of how these traits are important to help surveyors rise up the ladder.
“I was lucky enough to have a very tolerant employer in King Sturge who wanted me to stay on and allowed me to work part-time,” he explains. “I qualified as a surveyor in my amateur playing days and when the game went professional I worked out of the Bath office a couple of days a week, fitting it around my training with Bath RFC. It also gave me something to occupy my mind away from rugby, especially helpful when I was injured.”
Peters’ playing career was eventually cut short by injury. Rugby, by its very nature, leaves players more prone to physical damage than most other
sports — just one of the reasons Peters advocates the continuation of studies for young players.
“Rugby isn’t like football, in that you won’t earn the same money and, due to injuries, it is sometimes a shorter term career,” he says.
Healthy balance
One Chartered Surveyor who has been heavily involved in ensuring young rugby players strike a healthy balance in their lives is Mike Friday, the former Wasps scrum half and England Sevens coach, who has recently gone back to work as a Director at real estate adviser DTZ.
The England Sevens team is predominantly made up of players considered potential future stars and Friday says they are increasingly attracted to the apparently glamorous lifestyle of professional sport.
“Putting aside studies for the sake of rugby is a worryingly common trait in the modern player,” says Friday. “It’s a real concern as the superstars – like your Jonny Wilkinsons – are few and far between. The players who are really at risk are those who don’t make it to the top level, but have put all their eggs in one basket.”
In the amateur days of rugby, these problems could be more easily avoided.
“When the game went pro in 1996,’’ says Friday, ‘’I had to decide what to do and if I’d been forced to make a decision, being only 24 and with my property career just starting, I would probably have chosen to be a professional rugby player. But, luckily, I had a creative employer and I was very fortunate to have a dual career.”
Extended leave
Things were slightly different when Andy Irvine played for Scotland in the 1970’s. His career at JLL was not disrupted too much as “even for international matches we only had to train on Tuesday and Thursday evenings”. However, on the flip side, tours with the British Lions — which Irvine made to South Africa in 1974 and 1980 and to New Zealand in 1977 — lasted for three months and he admits he was “lucky to have such an understanding employer to let me undertake such a commitment”.
Irvine says many parallels can be drawn between rugby and his business life. “Property is about forming relationships with people as much as anything else,” he says. “Of course, you must give sound advice, but being sociable and having a competitive attitude will take you far.”
Friday agrees: “Both worlds are hugely reliant on team players and not necessarily stand-out individuals; both rely on camaraderie and are built on relationships,” he says. “In nearly all aspects of the business world, generally, you must get on with people and rugby is a very social sport that can give you these skills.
“Business also requires you to communicate efficiently and effectively – important traits on a rugby field. Personally, I think you also tend to get very frank honesty from rugby players.”
For some who try to combine sport and business, leading a double life does have its drawbacks. Former Harlequins and Gloucester winger Rob Jewell, now at ING Real Estate, remembers how tough it was.
“I did my degree in London while playing for Gloucester, and an evening course for my Masters while playing for Harlequins. It meant sacrificing something and unfortunately my social life was the first thing to suffer,” says Jewell, who now plays for National Division 1 team London Welsh.
Natural progression
But he agrees that rugby “helps break the ice with clients [as] property is the natural progression from rugby so there are a few ex-players and lots of fans who are in the industry”.
It is, of course, wrong to suggest that individuals who play a certain sport will gain an unfair advantage through some old boys’ network. What is true, though, is that in the eyes of employers, what you do outside the office is increasingly as relevant as what you do in it.
As Peters says: “These days, if you look at CVs of potential employees, more and more of them have good A-level grades and degrees, so you look for that little bit extra. This isn’t necessarily participation in sport, it could be other activities like drama, but you want to know that the candidate has the drive to be successful.”
Sporting chance
As well as entering a team into the Surveyor’s Rugby Sevens, RICS matrics offers plenty of other opportunities for members to get involved in sporting activities, including annual five-a-side football and golf competitions. All 32 RICS matrics groups are encouraged to hold local heats, from which the winners are then put forward for the national finals. These are held in July (football) and September (golf).
For further information on RICS matrics sports tournaments contact Karen Rogers at krogers@rics.org
