Simon Halliday is on the run this weekend, but not from any future responsibilities in helping to restore England’s credibility on the international front.
The former Bath and England centre, who could yet emerge as a powerful figure in a new management structure for the national team, has put together an impressive list of former internationals to run the Bath half-marathon and raise money for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).
“We’ve got Jason Leonard, Mike Teague, Jon Webb, Will Carling, Paul Ackford and Richard Hill running, which made me think that if they were all playing at Twickenham on Saturday, England would do pretty well,” he said.
Halliday conscripted many of his ex-colleagues after hearing about the death of Sebastian English, a 15-year-old player from the Haslemere Club who died from heart failure.
He intends to run himself, which will be a major test of the ankle he dislocated during his own career. An operation to fuse the joint has enabled him to take up jogging and he predicts a finishing time of around two and a quarter hours.
“If the adrenalin kicks in then maybe a bit quicker,” he said.
As for his role within the Rugby Football Union he remains coy, apart from stating his desire to play a full part. Halliday already serves on Club England, the senior playing management group, and describes himself as a close ally of Andy Robinson, another ex-Bath man.
One idea mooted is for Halliday to step in as a part-time manager, if work demands as an investment banker for Lehman Brothers allow. However, for that to come about a lot of talking has still to be done among Twickenham officials.
