Jonno Balding and Jack Clement chat to fans in Ocho’s Speakeasy about their sporting stories and why optimism is growing at the club after a difficult season.
I enjoyed a fun evening hosting Gloucester Rugby players Jack Clement and Jonno Balding at Club Ocho in the heart of Cheltenham recently.
It was my first time ‘working’ in Ocho’s new Speakeasy and the setting made for a relaxed and thought-provoking conversation between me and the boys. But also the club members and guests chimed in with some cogent points and fascinating questions.
Jonno and Jack are at different stages of their rugby careers. Balding is an Academy player and says he’s aware, at six-feet-nine-inches tall, he needs time to grow into into his frame before challenging for a place in the first team back-row.
Back-row forward Clement is in his mid 20s and arguably approaching the peak of his powers and is focused on firing The Cherry and Whites back up the table next season. Clement accepted the season hadn’t been great, but his breakdown of the extreme injury situation at the club in the first half of the campaign was a convincing explanation of the struggles in that period.
Passionate tributes
Both men spoke really well on difficult topics like rugby’s relationship with brain injury and gave passionate tributes to how they feel the game is looking after them as well as possible.
There was also fun riffs about other sports. Clement shared his background as a high-level youth cricketer. In an amazing example of sporting serendipity, Clement won a cricket scholarship to Cheltenham College aged 14 and it was at the famous old school that his talent for rugby was unearthed.
Balding’s father, Andrew is a highly respected and successful horse racing trainer (on the flat) and Jonno expressed his longterm ambition of training horses himself.
The Baldings are also big Southampton Football Club fans and that meant some interesting chats off the mic – given the Spygate drama that engulfed The Saints’ bid for promotion to The Premier League.
Ocho is planning to host more sporting conversations in the weeks and months ahead.
