Quite apart from those he endured on the rugby paddock, former England and British & Irish Lions fullback Tim Stimpson has had his fair share of knocks off it too.
“It’s totally normal to get shat on and sat on your arse. That’s life …but you have to get back up again,” says the 51-year-old married father-of-four, who lives in Leicestershire and now works, among other things, as an executive coach.
Stellar rugby career
He had what most folks would consider to be a stunning career in pro rugby which included Leicester Tigers (125 caps), England (19 caps) and a solitary cap for the Lions against South Africa in 1997.
And at 6ft 3in tall and 105kg, it’s hard to imagine a prematurely born Stimpson’s doctors giving him survival odds of 50:50.
‘If you survive, you’ll play for England’ – dad
“My dad put his hand in the incubator and said: ‘If you survive this you’ll play rugby for England,’” says Stimpson, who didn’t disappoint.
But, despite his characteristically upbeat disposition, it hasn’t all been plain sailing.
Dropped for 2003 RWC and a French nightmare
At Leicester, while not playing or training, Stimpson spent years nursing a sick girlfriend severely injured in a car crash.
“I tried to fix things,” says Stimpson, a kind-hearted soul who would later realise this assignment required more than idealism and was, in fact, beyond his ability to remedy.
Stimpson discovered he had a benign tumour in his knee just weeks before arriving in Perpignan, which stopped him playing and led to him having to go to court for 18 months to prove, at great cost, that it wasn’t his fault.
The move to Perpignan in 2003 was precipitated by a decision by then Tigers coach Dean Richards for Irishman Geordan Murphy at Stimpson’s preferred position of fullback, where he’d played the previous 150 games for Leicester. This match happened to coincide with final selection for the Six Nations. It led to him being dropped from the squad and subsequently missing out on the Rugby World Cup that England went on to win.
Sore point? Oh yes. Even now it niggles.
Business failures
Business endeavours post-rugby didn’t deliver the lucrative outcomes Stimpson had hoped for. Property investments in Spain and the UK turned sour following the 2008 financial crash.
He went on to work in financial services, his natural affability and chat immediately noticed by Canary Wharf bosses, including those at Arbuthnot Latham and Quilters, who believed they could monetise these traits.
But endless rounds of golf, entertaining customers, long lunches and giving speeches left him unfulfilled.
‘Desperate for meaning’
“I’ve always been desperate for meaning,” says Stimpson.
“Speeches are great fun, but ultimately they’re nothing more than a meal – not a diet.”
The words of his grandfather – “Never neglect the gift that lies within you” – have echoed round his head since childhood.
‘Grandad’s words drove me on’
These words drove him to achieve world-class standards in rugby. Reaching this elite level coupled with the locker room camaraderie of rugby was a potent mix which, particularly in his years at Leicester Tigers (1998 to 2003), gave Stimpson the meaning – and silverware – he craved.
Years later it was his grandad’s words which led him to discover the CCR3 Academy, with whom he trained up and qualified as a performance coach.
“It’s taken too long for me to understand the rules of the game post-pro sport,” says Stimpson, who believes he spent from 40 to 50 learning that reality – a reality that not all workplace teams can be trusted to the level built up in the closeknit Tigers squad of yesteryear.
‘I’ve finally learnt the post-rugby reality’
“As a team we achieved greatness together but afterwards we went our separate ways. One of the things I learned on civvie street is that people are not as trustworthy as your rugby team-mates.
“It’s taken a while for me to figure things out, and, yes, I should’ve been better at asking for help, but I now feel the next 10 years will be productive.”
Conversion Collective, Progressive Rugby, Walk Through Walls
As well as Conversion Collective, his new company helping businesses and households cut energy costs, Stimpson advises Progressive Rugby, a collection of experts pushing for changes to make the game safer for players. He is also an associate partner at Walk Through Walls, the Birmingham-based public affairs and business growth firm. Life is busy and, increasingly, has the purpose he seeks.
Gordon the Guided Missile
Stimpson says his North Star is ‘Gordon the Guided Missile,’ as famously outlined in a 2004 speech by comedian John Cleese on feeling comfortable about continually correcting one’s course after making mistakes, “accepting we all make mistakes but if we stay humble and ask for guidance we can still be successful.”
“I hope I can live more like Gordon in the future,” says Stimpson.
