Gordon Bray and schoolmates' rugby triumph stands out

Gordon Bray, celebrated for broadcasting nearly 400 international rugby matches, including World Cup victories and British and Irish Lions tours, regards a schoolboy rugby triumph as a career highlight. Bray, who was inducted into the Order of Australia in 2005 for his service to sport broadcasting, captained the 1965 Homebush Boys High first XV to victory in the prestigious New South Wales Waratah Shield competition.

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I think that Waratah Shield victory is right up there with any rugby experience I've been involved with.

"I think that Waratah Shield victory is right up there with any rugby experience I've been involved with," Bray told ABC Sport. The 8-3 final win over Oakhill College remains a treasured memory for Bray and his teammates. Among them was John Symond, who later founded Aussie Home Loans. "The Waratah Shield was definitely the highlight of my whole school experience, that's for sure," Symond said.

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The Waratah Shield was definitely the highlight of my whole school experience, that's for sure.

Greg Bell, who scored the winning try in the final, also recalled the significance of the win. "It meant a hell of a lot," Bell stated. The team's photographer, John Coates, who would go on to become the International Olympic Committee's vice-president, considered the players his heroes. Coates, Bray, Symond, Bell, and other members of the 1965 team recently reunited at their former school to mark the 60th anniversary of their championship win.

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It meant a hell of a lot.