BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

It is 1976 in the New South Wales country town of Forbes. As they had done in the years prior – a convoy of buses began to roll in. Inside were some of the best rugby league players from clubs around NSW and schools like St Gregory’s Campbelltown and Fairfield Patrician Brothers.

This was a different time long ago when rugby league was still the undisputed king in the bush.

It still rules but without the iron fist.

Once upon a time, the town of Forbes hosted an annual invitational carnival.

The local Commonwealth Bank branch funded it.

Ray Montgomery and Col McKenzie, teachers from the high school, ran it.

The winning team was awarded a prized boot worn by the legendary Eric Simms – mounted on a block.

The buses kept coming and parked up alongside the Vandenberg Hotel across from the Town Hall.

Montgomery, McKenzie and others, including committeeman Lionel Huggett, grabbed each player as they stepped off the bus and lined them up with a family to stay with for the weekend.

With their work seemingly done for the evening, the men retired to the Vandenberg.

Then, on their sixth or seventh schooner, a lightbulb flickered.

Frank Martin, the manager of the bank, looked at Simms’ boot.

“Frank says, ‘if you can get Eric Simms up here by tomorrow the bank will cover it’” Huggett, now 75, told the81stminute.com.

Simms had finished up his illustrious career in Sydney in 1975 and was now playing down in Crookwell.

“We ring Crookwell and they tell us we’ll probably find him over at the Goulburn Rugby Club. We eventually chase him down at about half passed 10 on the Friday night.”

But how the hell were they going to get Simms up to Forbes for the start of the carnival the next morning?

“There was a local rodeo cowboy here named Paddy O’Connor,” Huggett continued.

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“He had a private plane and was a rugby league diehard – so we went and got Simms at about 6am the next morning from the airstrip at Crookwell and flew him up to Forbes.”

But Simms wasn’t too keen on flying or light aircraft for that matter.

If the great Rabbitoh was jumping on the plane he wasn’t going alone.

The president and another official of the Crookwell club were dragged along to fill up the plane to ease Simms’ stress.

“He was a bit dusty but got better as the day went on,” Huggett adds.

“Simms watched the games on the sideline and followed the goalkickers really closely. If a young bloke missed a kick, Simms would walk out onto the field and give the kid some tips while the game was meant to be going on – he loved it.

“He loved the kids and he loved the bush.”

For the record – the Crookwell entourage arrived home safely the next day.

@woodward_curtis