Bruce Perkins – A Tribute

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It is with great sadness that I have to inform readers that my website partner – Bruce Perkins – has passed away.

I first came across Bruce in 2017 when he commented on an article on the site about the surprise retirement of Kay Wilson, a talented winger.  In the same comment he was critical of the RFU for misspelling the names of three of the players named in an England training squad – a cardinal sin – and a taste of his forthright manner.

During further correspondence I discovered that an article he had written for another site had drawn criticism and was subsequently removed from that website.  At that time it was considered poor form to not be grateful for any crumbs the women’s game might receive, something Bruce had no patience with, he was keen for progress across the board.

And that is how Bruce came to write for me (us) and his contribution has been immense.

This year alone between 1 January 2026 and 25 March 2026 Bruce wrote 72 articles!  Each one meticulously researched and beautifully written.

In total between 16 November 2017 and 25th March 2026 he wrote 2,217 articles, the first titled Verdicts and the last – Wales on the March.

It soon became obvious to me that Bruce had knowledge and experience that surpassed mine by a mile – I am simply a fan – but Bruce had played and coached cricket and rugby and had strong views about both. For instance he was not a fan of The Hundred and didn’t approve of the set up or the franchise approach, while appreciating the effort to get more people interested in cricket. He would argue for a more level playing field for the other home nations while applauding the achievements of the Red Roses. He wasn’t at all happy when established clubs that had contributed so much to grassroots rugby closed their doors or indeed when his beloved Kent were not included in the new Tier 1 County cricket set up.

He would often ask me to read a piece carefully in case he was treading on toes, but since we are free of sponsors we can express our opinions freely.

In March 2022 Bruce started to produce his monthly diary, which covered global events in rugby union.

He would also sit up late into the night live-streaming rugby matches from across the world from the Celtic Challenge to the PAC-4, his knowledge of the players involved never ceased to amaze me.  I would receive match reports at all hours of the day and night; and he would always reassure me that he would catch up on his sleep in naps during the day!

Bruce received a back-handed compliment when he discovered that an Italian rugby site had duplicated one of his articles, I have been looking for their contact details because Bruce struck up a relationship with them and he was highly impressed by some of their work.

In 2022 Bruce had a setback health-wise and got a nurse to send me an email from the hospital saying ‘I don’t wish to alarm you, but I am awaiting an operation’!  (Hardly reassuring but grateful that he let me know he’d be out of contact.)  Thankfully he made a good recovery and it barely slowed him down!

We unfortunately only actually met once at the Women’s Barbarians game v the Red Roses at Twickenham in June 2019, where Bruce gave a running critique if I remember rightly. One always thinks there is lots of time.

One of the things he particularly enjoyed, when he was able, was to be accredited to attend rugby and cricket games and he always managed to meet interesting people and come away with useful bits of information.

So determined was Bruce to keep up his reporting that at one time when he was experiencing technical problems he would send me his hand-written reports but he was relieved when he could go back to the computer.

I cannot begin to express how much I will (already do) miss him, multiple emails each week, dotted with humour and little anecdotes – and he always had the ability to make me laugh, which is a wonderful gift.  He was always on hand to offer some sage advice.

I also cannot express enough how grateful I am for the incredible contribution Bruce made to this website.  The site was begun out of frustration at not being able to find out information on the Women’s 6 Nations in 2014, the other week I attended the England v Ireland game at Twickenham which was sold out). Change is happening, I like to think that Bruce made a big contribution to that change.