Over four decades, John Lovell has dedicated his life to collecting memorabilia and programs that tell the fascinating centuries-old story of rugby.
It started with leeks. Forty-three years later, John Lovell has several hundred rugby programs, priceless memorabilia and even a box full of old The world of rugby magazines.
A treasury of social and sporting history that tells the centuries-old story of rugby. From Nelson Mandela and the 1995 Rugby World Cup final to ‘that try’ and bits of the John Player Cup and provincial tours in between. All in the spare room of an English teacher living in the Yorkshire Dales.
“Looking back, I didn’t realize how young I was. It was my father David, who is Welsh, his mate Frank House and the four of us in the back of a Vauxhall Cavalier heading to Edinburgh at the crack of dawn for the Scotland v Wales game in 1983,” explains Lovell over coffee and biscuits. “A 200 mile trip with a little chef on the way. Next to the aerial was a leek grown in Dad’s garden. We had no tickets so Dad went to the pubs to find them. I stayed outside with a bottle of coke and some crisps while they searched. They went to Roseburn Terrace and came out with tickets worth.
“While I was waiting a drunken Welshman came up to me and asked me how much for my leeks. I didn’t know what to say but he gave me 50p for it. I went to the program stand and bought my first one. That was it for me, that’s where it started. I still remember cigarette smoke and cigars wafting through the air as he tried to hit Joffe around the side in his hand. It fascinated me.”
Collector’s items
From there, Lovell’s obsession took over. At each game, he collected programs that were sold in wooden huts. Whether it’s his own Wharfedale RUFC, Neath’s games at The Gnoll or even memories of the 2005 Welsh Grand Slams.
There are also a few non-program items scattered around. A Daily Mirror a poster of Will Carling pinned from a lamppost outside Twickenham. The 1991 World Cup final shirt, the All Blacks jersey from their 1989 tour and even our Jonah Lomu Stanley Chow print from last year. The collection currently stands at around 550 in total, with Lovell estimating that a quarter come from matches he has attended and the rest collected through other methods.
One of those methods was a simple question. In 1989 he wrote a speculative letter NZ Rugby the magazine might have some backup programs. They did, they released a full box for him from the 1960s, 70s and 80s, both from All Blacks and provincial games. However, this unsolicited request turned out to be much more useful than just getting the printed programs.
John shows off his impressive collection of programs and magazines (Photo: Dom Thomas)
“So in 1991 I managed to get fake accreditation for the Rugby World Cup,” explains Lovell. “There was a rugby writer called Ray Cairns who was your typical Kiwi, he didn’t care about anything. He came to cover the tournament and stayed with my grandparents while they were at the tournament in Great Britain. In return he drove me around the tournament after he managed to get my credentials at kick-off at Twickenham in England. games and talked about this classic RFU guy to get me a pass for the tournament. I was only 17 and I had freelance journalist for all matches!
“I went to games like Western Samoa when they beat Wales and Australia against Argentina at Stradey Park. David Campese was mesmerized that day. Samoa against Australia in Pontypool was also brilliant. All with Ray.
“We had a bit of a row during the tournament about an unpaid bed and breakfast which got my school a phone call, but we made up by the semi-final and went to Scotland against England at Murrayfield. I’ve never seen such hatred and madness. Especially with Hastings missing a shot in front of the posts.”
“My big thing is the 1970s”
Today, Lovell uses a variety of methods to add to his growing collection. He has a few contacts who will return programs from games he’s attended, but his main approach is through eBay and Vinted, looking for packages that might contain a gem or two. Then there is Rugby Relics or Mullock’s Auctionsbut the prices offered are often too high.
For Lovell, his collection is less an obsessive kit-completing paradise and more about taking on things that have a personal feel to them. Some in-game collectors will spend thousands trying to find specific programs and will add them to the folders associated with the rings in a precise order. The Lovells are scattered around the house among family photos and work items in no real order.
In addition to the program, John’s collection also includes several vintage releases The world of rugby (Dom Thomas)
“I’ve got loads of provincial programmes, but my big thing is the 1970s. I’ve got most of Wales’ home games in that period. An awful lot of Five Nations games,” he adds. “The older I get, the more selective I get. My 1930s British Lions v New Zealand program has since gone from about £800 to £1,200, but I haven’t paid for it. I don’t have loads of ultra valuables, but that’s why I don’t collect them. I want things that mean something to me, which is why I’m only paid a few 7 ‘9 I think the most I paid was for Llanelli v Swansea in 1972, which was a record crowd for the club game I paid for with the ticket too, so it was a good buy.
“I was desperate for the 1995 World Cup final program and I got it for about £70. It’s hard to get hold of because it’s A4 and massive. You don’t get many mentees. And this is a nerd of the highest order, the barbs would go at them so it was rare to get a good copy. I went through a bunch of wanted stuff from that 1995 tour of South Africa because they came back to tour South Africa. I got the programme. from every Springboks game in that tournament They also had a good style to them.
“I’m only going to look for weird stuff. I’ve read about it.” John Pullin and England played away to Ireland during The Troubles where he said ‘At least we turned up’ after taking a beating. So if there’s an interesting game, I might look for it.”
A time capsule
As we flip through his collection, some gems present themselves. There are a handful of French programs that give you a window into the world of Robert Paparemborde and Jean-Claude Skrela, amateur boxers and 64kg scrum-half. A British and Irish lions Test program from the 1989 tour of Australia showing the warm-up match between New South Wales and Queensland. On the NSW bench is the future Australian coaching duo of Ewen McKenzie and Eddie Jones. A particular highlight is the Wales v France Five Nations match in 1978 in which Gareth Edwards provided another Grand Slam and devoted time to his international career.
You realize that the Lovell Collection is a time capsule of our sport, a window into the social and sporting history of rugby throughout the 20th century around the world. Capturing real-time insights from the past, in a way that is more reliable than oral history.
“I have a program from the Barbarians v New Zealand match in 1973. A try match. I opened it and some guy, I don’t know who, made notes about what happened during the match. It says ‘nice, dry day’. Record Gerald Davies he doesn’t play and John Bevan comes on. Mervyn Davies withdrew on the morning of the game with flu. The man wrote that it was great playing all afternoon and Tommy David was the star with a great performance. I got that for a fiver.”
A keen fan commented on this program from the legendary Barbarians v New Zealand match in 1973 (Dom Thomas)
The art of rugby
One thing that becomes immediately apparent as you browse the collection is that program design used to be a real art. The Kiwis were almost gothic in their 1960s design, looking like Metallica’s inspiration long before the birth of heavy metal.
The home nations opted for beautiful pencil illustrations of speedy outside halves breaking through the defensive line. You also get a window into the world we lived in. Advertisements for Super Kings cigarettes, longer than Kings but at the same price. Or the latest MG Maestro. They are also smaller.
“Programs are put in someone’s pocket and then they have a choice to keep them or leave them. Most of them would have been thrown away. When they were pocket-sized they stayed in better nick. I remember Wales going A4 around the Grand Slam in 2005 and as a collector they were problematic. I was talking to some fellow collectors recently and they would post them and they posted pre-pop matches in their letterbox, which is a different level for me. Many collectors have connections with people who go to games and sort stuff for you.
It would be difficult to place a value on Lovell’s collection, but in any case it would be unfair. It’s an eclectic collection that feels more like a treasure trove than a rugby encyclopedia. Any fan who came for a cup of tea would find themselves lost for hours flipping through pages and pages of gold dust.
Program and ticket for the 1983 Scotland v Wales Five Nations match – the game that sparked John’s passion for collecting (Dom Thomas)
Sentimental value
And if you’re lucky, Lovell might even offer you a program or two. For him, the value comes not in their financial value, but in the sentimental value that has shaped his 46-year love of rugby and the little paper programs that come with every game.
“I’ve been contacted by a few people about whether I have certain programmes. Some members of the Welsh referee’s family have contacted me about matches he officiated,” added Lovell. “There was a Welsh Schoolboys team that won in New Zealand, the nation’s only win there at any level. A guy from that team got in touch and I sent him the program because it was the highlight of his career, which was nice to do.
“I have a soft spot for the Middlesex program against Yorkshire when they played each other in the county championship final. My PE teacher was on the bench, Mr Huntsman, and I traveled with Wharfedale RUFC.”
“You could get a lot closer to the players and I remember Mr. Huntsman signing my program. I was torn because he wasn’t that reliable. John Bentley, Rory Underwood and Peter Winterbottom they all played for Yorkshire that day (1987).
“If I had to keep one from my collection, it would be the one from Scotland v Wales in 1983. That’s where it all started. That A3 program that’s worth £2 and has no value but has memories for me.”
“Though I’ve always suspected that Dad got tickets at the first pub and made us go to a few more to have a few more drinks. It wouldn’t surprise me.”
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