A former player, manager, coach and administrator who has contributed nearly 50 years service to The Waratahs Rugby Union Club has been named the club’s 36th Life Member.

Ken Grieve was unanimously voted to receive the honour at The Waratahs 2017 Annual General Meeting held last Sunday (3 Dec).

A well-known and respected member of the club, Ken has spent various years since the 1970s in playing, coaching and managing both junior and senior teams.

Ken started playing junior rugby with The Tahs in 1970 and became a First Grade player before a serious knee injury stopped him playing for several years. He took on managerial roles before moving into coaching junior teams and then grade positions.

As coach of the First Grade (Premier 1) team in the late 1980s, he took them to the Minor Premiership in 1987 which was the last year The Waratahs won the Club Championship.

Ken returned to playing Fourth Grade in 1990 and was a member of the grand-final team. He moved back into coaching and in 1992 was coach of the Third Grade Minor & Major Premiers.

Throughout the 1990s and the 2000s he held a number of other coaching positions in the junior and senior clubs. He was Junior President for many years, a member of the first Colts coaching staff in 2003 while his latest role has been Manager of the Premier 2 side in 2017.

Ken’s long and distinguished association with The Waratahs was roundly applauded by all who attended the AGM.

Footnote: The club’s latest Life Members have been John Brown (2009), Denis Hurst (2011), Dave Bowtell (2012), Matthew Chidgey (2014) and Mark Queenan (2014).