All at CURUFC have been saddened to learn of the death of Nick Drake-Lee, who died at the age of 78 on Friday 22nd January. Drake-Lee won three Blues (1961-62-63), as well as eight caps for England. The RFU notice can be found here.
One of the stalwarts of the Cambridge pack that steered the fabled 1961 side into the Varsity Match on the back of an unbeaten run of 14 matches, Nick Drake-Lee, has died after a lengthy illness. He was 78.
Born in Kettering, he came up to Downing College from Stonyhurst and read history. He came with a good reputation as a strong, mobile prop and had played for the England Public Schools side
He made the Light Blues side as a freshman, making his first appearance against ‘the other place’ at Twickenham as a 19-year-old. He went on to play in two more Varsity Matches and by the time he faced Oxford in 1963 he had already won four of his eight England caps and won the Five Nations Championship.
“As well as being the youngest England prop since WW2, I also held another, less well-known record. To the best of my knowledge, I’m the only player to have played in all three positions in the front row for my country – loose head, tight head and hooker,” Drake-Lee told the Rugby Paper in 2016.
“I filled in as hooker for 15 minutes against France in 1963 when Sam Hodgson left the field for stitches. Despite having around seven new players in our pack, we went on to win the Championship that year.
“In four years I’d gone from playing for Stonyhurst College to England, via Kettering RFC and Cambridge University, to win my first cap on a bitterly cold day in Cardiff. It was that cold someone had to nip down to M&S to buy in the city centre on match day to buy extra vests and underwear for the three-quarters to wear.
“I found myself propping against an old friend, Kingsley Jones, who had also been my opponent when I played my first game for Cambridge against the Cardiff club. He gave me a real education in front row play that day – literally so.
“After being given a good going over in the match, Kingsley and a few of the other Cardiff lads agreed to spend a bit of time teaching me and a few others the skills needed to be play prop in an impromptu, post-match training session.
“It was like a door being opened to a whole new world and I learned so much. He regretted it a little bit later on in the term when I gave him a hard time in the Steele-Bodger’s XV fixture.
“Against Ireland I was hit in the face at the first scrum by three fists. The referees didn’t look after you in those days, you had to look after yourself. Playing Wilson Whineray’s All Blacks was another eye-opener.
“In those days the Varsity match was the biggest game outside the internationals. We were victorious in my three years as a Blue and the 1961 side was packed full of internationals.”
He played in Cambridge’s 16-11 win over the touring Canadians in 1962 and in the 20-6 defeat to following year against Wilson Whineray’s All Blacks. In his three years in Light Blue the side won 54 of their 76 games, drew seven more and were rightly regarded as one of the best club sides in the country. More significantly, they won all three games at Twickenham to make it a record equalling four wins in a row in the Varsity Match. He was one of nine players from the 1961 team at Twickenham who went on to play international rugby - Geoff Frankcom, Mike Wade, Gordon Waddell, Trevor Wintle, Nick Drake-Lee, Brian Thomas, John Owen, Roger Michaelson and John Brash.
His England debut came against Wales at Cardiff Arms Park on 19 January, 1963, as one of six new caps in the visiting pack. His Cambridge colleague Simon Clarke, also from Downing, made his debut at scrum half on the same day, as did his 1961 Varsity Match team mate Owen in the second row and the 1960 Blue, Bev Dovey, on the other side of the front row.
There was another ex-Blue in the England ranks, Sale wing Jim Roberts, while the Welsh pack contained two other current Light Blues in Thomas and Michaelson. They were also both making their Test debuts in the arctic conditions during one of the worst winters on record in the UK. A video of 1963 Wales v England Match can be watched here.
England drew against Ireland in Dublin in a game that remained scoreless throughout in round two of the championship. They then pipped France 6-5 at Twickenham – another former Blue, Dave Perry (1958) made his debut in the game - before beating Scotland at home in the Calcutta Cup match 10-8 in a game in which Drake-Lee scored a vital try.
Exam commitments forced him to miss the England tour to New Zealand Australia in the summer of 1963, but he did tour with the Combined Oxford & Cambridge side to South Africa, Rhodesia and East Africa in July and August. He then got three cracks at the All Blacks with Cambridge, Midland Counties and England in the 1963-64 season.
Seven of his eight international appearances were while he was a student, with his final game for England coming in a 14-3 defeat to Wales in Cardiff two years on from his debut. He was still only 22.
On the club front he played for Leicester (72 games between 1962-68), Manchester and Waterloo. He also played in a County Championship final with Lancashire. After hanging up his boots he didn’t walk away from rugby. He became coach at his home town club, Kettering, and became club President in 1986. His son, Bill Drake-Lee, graduated through the Kettering ranks before following his father into the Leicester side.
Nicholas James Drake-Lee – Light Blue No 662
Born on 7 April, 1942 in Kettering; died 22 January, 2021
Sonyhurst and Downing
3 Blues (61,62,63)
8 England caps