Farewell tributes to rugby ace Peter.

THE Teesside rugby community has paid its final tributes to Peter Griffiths.

The hugely popular Welsh-born rugby enthusiast's funeral took place at St Nicholas Church in his adopted home town Guisborough yesterday.

Representatives from local clubs were out in force and many contacted the Gazette to place on record their appreciation of Peter's efforts in promoting rugby in the area through his reports in the paper.

Neil Young, captain of Redcar, said: "Peter was a fantastic man who put Tees Valley rugby on the map. He had an infectious character and was always a joy to talk to. He will be missed immensely by the club, the players and the supporters.

"On a personal note I would like to thank Peter for all the memories and the coverage Redcar and myself have received and my deepest sympathies go out to his family at this sad time."

Stockton RFC's Terry Wilson said: "Rugby in general and Stockton RFC in particular, owes a lot to Peter Griffiths.

"He managed to project, via the press, a very positive image of the sport to the public at large. This, I'm sure, helped us to attract new players and sponsors and kept the sport on Teesside vibrant.

"But perhaps more importantly, he was a warm human being who was great fun to work in partnership with. We were participating in a regional RFU meeting at Newcastle 18 months ago when someone from the audience proposed he should be knighted for his services to rugby, as he played a huge role in ensuring the sport in Teesside received much better coverage than it appeared to on Tyneside.

"This really tickled him when we told him. We will miss him and our sincere condolences go to his family."

Acklam's Ray Kelly added: "Peter was a friend and colleague to all the local clubs, especially to Acklam. He kept local rugby on the map. His reports were always fair and he always gave Acklam a good and generous write up. He was a pleasure to know and he will be sadly missed by everyone at the club."

Billingham chairman Mark Armstrong said: "We were deeply saddened to hear of Peter''s passing. Peter was a great supporter of rugby and a very good friend to Billingham Rugby Club.

"He covered our matches from first 15 to the minis. Billingham RUFC has gone through a period of unrivalled growth and success over recent years and I would like to believe that Peter''s coverage and support has been a contributing factor.

"Peter will be missed by all at Billingham and we would like send our deepest condolences to his family at this time as well as thank Peter publicly for understanding the true spirit of rugby and for being our friend."

Mike Read paid tribute on behalf of Middlesbrough RFC. He said: "He did a marvellous job for Teesside rugby. It was good that he could get involved with us on behalf of the Gazette and helped raise the profile of rugby in this area.

"He was very fair and got around all the clubs on a regular basis, he didn't just favour the bigger teams."

TEESSIDE'S tribute to Peter - see Page 7