Dear Rachel,

I am so sorry to hear this terrible news and please accept my apologies for not being able to attend on Thursday. I have so many happy memories of Rod. He was one of the most natural leaders i have ever met – he always had your back, but he also had that cheeky, impish sense of humour, a glint in his eye and a willingness to defy authority even though he was probably meant to be in charge. He also had a wonderful infectious laugh. His natural strength was bizarre, (his pulls ups at school are still the stuff of legend), his rugby was awesome, his hockey better than he got credit for and his cricket truly awful. It doesn’t surprise me to read that he continued to excel, lead and win trust and admiration in all the areas he turned his hand to over the years i just wish I had caught up with him more often. He will leave a massive void.

Billy Beaumont