Jakarta Banteng Rugby Club

Memories of Jakarta Bantengs Brother Craig Senger

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT CRAIG…

It was about 18 months ago that the Jakarta Banteng Rugby Club first came across this “bule”, or in other words, another white man wanting to play rugby with the Bantengs… Our friend and then current player, another “bule” Glen Fischer first introduced us all to him. One aussie introducing another, “guys this is my mate, Craig Senger”… There and then, I knew it was the beginning of our friendship or in Banteng terms our “brotherhood” enriched by one Craig Senger…

At first glance I wasn’t too impressed by his physique, at all. He claimed to have played rugby back home, but I tell you what he didn’t look the fittest. Mind you neither did, or should I say do I. So I asked him, “Craig, how’s your fitness?” he so innocently replied, “Bobby, I’m as unfit as F@!*, but mate I’ll have a go”. This is the type of attitude that Craig brought to the Bantengs, his willingness to have a go, do the best you can do and be happy with your efforts. It didn’t matter whether we ended up winning the game or not; it didn’t matter how big our opponents were; what mattered was how big we played and if we gave it everything we had. Craig’s demeanor spread throughout the club rapidly, his pleasant, low profile style made it so easy for the other boys to accept him as our brother.

Let me tell you that many “bules” have come and gone in the Banteng rugby Club, but none of them came close to ever having Craig’s down-to-earth, friendly and caring approach. This was certainly evident both on and off the rugby pitch. I often wondered if Craig was too nice a guy to play rugby. But my thoughts were proven wrong, this lad from the land down under could certainly line up any opposition and let them know who they were playing against. And with his own unique running style, he made a good 10 meters or so every time he ran the ball up. Back to his running style, he also brought laughter to all watching the game with his unique running style!!

One significant point to note about Craig was that he is the only Banteng to date that never, ever turned up for training but would get a jersey on a Saturday and play. So there really is something about Craig. Because as the Chairman of the JBRC, I was and still am very adamant that no matter how good you are, or think you are, if you don’t turn up on a Wednesday night and train, you simply don’t play on Saturday. But with Craig it was different. That bugger always got a jersey and ran on, very often in the first 15 line up!! I love the way he used to come up with his excuses, “Bobby, I swear to GOD I was planning to come last Wednesday, I brought my gear to work, told the Mrs. I’d be late home, but mate something came up!!” Classic, but that was our brother Craig.

There’s something about Craig that made you accept him right there on the spot; made you feel comfortable with the guy; and definitely made you feel like a real human being. That was Craig. Our friend, our brother. It didn’t matter what socio-economic background you had, whether you had a tonne of money or just a guy that wanted to learn to play rugby, Craig made you feel wanted and welcome. He not only helped develop rugby within the JBRC, but holistically developed the true meaning of rugby for all Indonesians to appreciate and have a go. Goodbye my friend, goodbye my brother, your legacy will live long and strong through our brotherhood, the BANTENG BROTHERHOOD!!

Bobby Orlando.
Chairman
Jakarta Banteng Rugby Club