Obviously it is going to be a fairly flexible piece as the Newport Gwent Dragons are still evolving and are only in their third year of existence. Hence some of the players that we will be looking at will have played for clubs in the Region as well as The Dragons, but such is their standing in world rugby that we feel that you will enjoy finding out what has happened to such famous names as Gary Teichmann, Adrian Garvey and Ian McIntosh among others.
We invite you to write and suggest whom you would like to find out about, and if we can, we shall endeavour to track them down and report back to you.
However, for this our introduction to tracking down old Dragons stars I make no apologies for taking such an easy step as finding out about the most recent departure, namely the famous fullback and superstar Percy Montgomery.
The reasons why I have selected Monty will soon become apparent. Monty was to be Tony Browns’ last major signing for the Newport team and he joined a team that was both exciting and, some thought, underachieving. In his first full season he brought about taking Newport to the cup final against Llanelli at the Millennium Stadium almost single-handed when he kicked all the points in the semi-final victory against the much-fancied Bridgend team.
During his time with Newport Monty had the crushing indignity of being suspended from all rugby for six months after laying hands on an official in a dark, wet and bad tempered game at Swansea. That he could return to such a rapturous welcome when he had served his sentence was a moving testament to the high regard that supporters had for him.
The wind of change that saw the emergence of the Newport Gwent Dragons also heralded Monty’s most successful period of rugby. He flourished under Mike Ruddock and his points tally was so huge it prodded the South African officials to make a complete change of their own very strict overseas player policy and recall him to the national team.
Monty was an integral part of the Boks Tri Nation triumph and returned to his adopted homeland the hero, his new wife expecting a child and looking forward to another season of success. Alas it was not to be, Monty never reached the heights of his previous seasons at Rodney Parade, and soon it became an open secret that he was thinking about a return to his homeland.
Many theories abound about his abrupt departure, but I knew more than most, for Monty had been my neighbour for nearly three years and we had developed a firm friendship. That he felt he was misused and misunderstood by the Rugby League specialist Chris Anderson is something of an understatement, and it was apparent that they would never top each others Christmas card list.
When he finally decided he was going back to Durban to play for the Natal Sharks it was not without much soul searching. There were offers aplenty including three leading English clubs and one region in Wales. But Monty insisted that he would never play for any other European club or region apart from a South African team. Like the supporters and Tony Brown had been loyal to him, Monty remained loyal to them.
I was fully aware of how great a wrench it was for him to leave when on the fateful day his family stood in floods of tears as they finally left the part of Wales that had become their happy home. Not a week goes by without contact between Taz and my wife, or with Nick, her son and Matt, my son.
I am also aware of one huge disappointment that Monty has, thus I hope we can use this item to iron that problem out. Monty deeply regrets that he never had the chance to say a proper goodbye and wave a thank you to all the fans and friends he had at Rodney Parade. He had hoped to play a small part in his good friend Rod Snow’s testimonial; unfortunately as he was leaving the country the very next day this was just not possible.
When I phoned Monty and told him about an article that I was writing he asked me to wish all his friends and supporters his best. He knows that he left in circumstances that could, and should have been happier.
It is a mark of the man that he singled out three men who are all held in high esteem, he was a good judge of a high ball and also a good judge of men. We will miss him, he brought excitement and glamour to The Dragons, he was shy man who enjoyed the relative calm and quiet he received in Wales. He was a man of his word who felt that his last few months left a bad taste. He is genuine in his feelings for the players; he enjoyed their sense of humour and the camaraderie. He gives his best wishes to us all. I hope you can join me in returning our best wishes for his continued success
