Thomas Fleming: committed to the cause for OBU

Thomas Fleming playing for Old Boys University against Avalon at the start of this season. On Saturday the former Wairarapa-Bush and VPC Andorra player plays his 100th Premier match for his club.?

The Andorran national rugby team’s nickname is Els Isards, which is a Pyrenean chamois or a European mountain goat.

Thomas Fleming, who recently spent an off-season playing for Andorran club side VPC Andorra XV, is set to play his 100th match for the Old Boys University Goats this weekend when they take on Tawa in a key Swindale Shield match.

Fleming, who also previously spent 2012 and2014 with the Wairarapa-Bush team in the Heartland Championship, was presented with the opportunity to play in Andorra in south-western France in their 2013/14 season through his former flatmate and recent OBU Premier captain Andrew Smith.

Smith had a stint playing in Barcelona across the Spanish border and he had a contact that was the catalyst for Fleming to hop on a plane for Catalan country, three weeks after OBU lost to Tawa in the 2013 Jubilee Cup semi-final.

VPC Andorra is made up of predominantly local players, with a couple of Georgians, an Argentinian and an Italian in last year’s squad alongside Fleming, the sole New Zealander. They play in local French competitions.

“Basically I tried to instil a little bit of what I’ve learnt through my years of playing rugby in New Zealand over in a developing rugby nation,” Fleming said this week.

Fleming said he flatted with a Georgian and the Italian. The language barrier was often a problem but he was looked after really well so it all fell into place.

Several years ago, it was the suggestion of a few friends at OBU to join the proud Wellington club after a short time playing in Dunedin, and on Saturday he will rack up 100 Premier matches for them, a testament to his unwavering loyalty and ability.

Versatile forward Fleming spent much of his childhood watching his father play for Coastal and Pukekohe, Growers stadium being a regular haunt for Fleming, cheering his father on from the side-line.

A product of the illustrious New Plymouth Boys’ High, it is little wonder the dynamic No.8 and some-time lock has made a name for himself in the Wellington club scene.

A game against Hamilton Boys’ High School on the hallowed “Gully” turf was the first time he stepped back and realised that rugby is something he wanted to do beyond his schooling days.

“I went down to Dunedin University and studied there for a year and had a great season under the coaches Josh Kronfeld and John Leslie, we had an unbeaten season for our university colts team but I then came to Wellington for a change of scenery.”

“Since joining OBU, I’ve been lucky enough to stay around and I’m one of the few who have been able to kick on from the 50 matches to 100.”

“The reason I’ve stayed around here are the great mates you meet, some of them are great mates off the field as well, which makes it a bit more special.”

Some of his club rugby highlights have been winning the Ed Chaney, beating Wests Roosters in the Hardham Cup final and a semi-final in the Jubilee Cup.

“I like to be able to put more than one hat on when I put a rugby strip on, it gives you more opportunity to get into a starting position as well, that versatility and loyalty comes back into it and also being able to relate well to all the boys that come in,” Fleming said.

An opportunity with Wairarapa-Bush allowed Fleming to push for higher honours. Current OBU coach Paddy Gough presented that opportunity after assisting with the Bush side.

“I’m always trying to better myself and push to the next level.”

He briefly departed New Zealand rugby in 2013 for his stint of full-time rugby in Andorra.

An unbeaten Tawa will not lie down to OBU on Saturday in what will be a titanic clash in more ways than one.

“Tawa are strong all over the park; they’re fast, agile, big, we’re a smaller team than them so we’ll have to bring a lot of passion and hopefully the boys can get up for a pretty big day for myself but also the club,” Fleming said.

Off the field, Fleming enjoys fishing and diving, while working for ACC midweek. He was quick to remind those in the rugby circles that, no, he cannot assist you with you rugby related claims.

This is a momentous achievement for someone who has given his all for OBU and Wellington rugby over the years.

Regardless of the score line on Saturday afternoon, there will be one man receiving all the applause for his loyalty and commitment to the great game.