I DIDN’T know Ben Mitchell, but after attending his tribute day in Cudal on Saturday, I wish I had.
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Ben was killed in a farming accident near Cudal last year and his mates decided to put on a special day to remember him.
His friends didn’t let him down.
They put on an amazing event at Dean Park in Cudal which was only helped by the clear skies, friendly faces and that tempting aroma of sausages cooking on a barbecue.
Everything about the day showed Ben was the kind of person who was loved by the community. You don’t have over 1000 people show up to your tribute if you’re not a nice person.
The under 7s Wallas rugby game between the Cudal Cobras and Canowindra Pythons was wonderfully entertaining.
I’m not sure if the children understood what the day meant, but they played like they were representing Australia (even if they sometimes ran over the sideline to score a try).
I expected the tribute match between 60 Cudal Cobras old boys to be a bit of a giggle and nothing too serious.
That’s not quite how it worked out.
All 60 men wore Ben’s No.8 on their back and must have felt inspired to play like the man they were honouring, who was described as “the toughest No.8 going around.”
There were some tough tackles, some damaging runs and plenty of smiles on the faces of players and spectators. And that was just the warm-up!
The match was great. The players agreed it was far more serious than they had thought it would be but it delivered some wonderful moments.
The commentary was a highlight because every player wore the same number.
“The No.8 is coming off for the red team and is being replaced by the No.8,” had me giggling every time.
By the end of the match there were 60 tired and sore bodies.
Still, the players were clearly proud of what they’d done and looked forward to raising a glass to their mate.
Of course this game was followed by the GrainCorp Cup match between Canowindra and Molong.
It was a wonderful gesture from Canowindra to move their home game to Cudal for this special day.
To those who organised the tribute day, I take my hat off to you. As well as being so well organised, it showed just how wonderful your friend was.
