Last night at The Twickenham Stoop one Harlequin signed off for the final time at home, Ugo Monye. In today’s modern game one club men are few and far between, alongside thirteen successful domestic seasons Ugo donned the shirt of England and the most coveted of them all, that of the British and Irish Lions. It has been an illustrious career and it is a mark of the man that with all of his achievements the part that he is most proud of is the fact that he has been a one club man. When the final whistle is blown at Kingston Park next weekend Ugo will hang up his brightly coloured Adidas boots for the last time, prior to last night's game Adidas themselves set the hashtag #Monyemental trending and his domestic career has been just that. The statistics on his Harlequins' player profile page speak for themselves... 241 appearances, 52 Aviva Premiership tries and 16,206 minutes played. Indeed last night's final try proved that in spite of the years rolling on, out wide his finishing ability remains of the highest calibre. The ability to sign off on your own terms is something every rugby player dreams of doing and whilst he won’t be lifting any silverware next weekend an Aviva Premiership Man of the Match Award and two sublime tries isn’t too shabby!
The Aviva Premiership will be a poorer place without Harlequins’ all time leading try scorer, it will be up to Charlie Walker, Marland Yarde and co to fill the void from a points perspective and off the field others will need to step up for Ugo's contribution to Club life was vast. Ugo is a cheeky chap with a strong work ethic, he is genuinely one of the most personable men in rugby and is exactly the type of player that Conor O’Shea wants his club to stand for. It is a well known fact that Ugo turned down a French salary twice the size of his own to continue to play for the club that he supported as a boy and that true, unwavering commitment and loyalty is a mark of the man.
As with every domestic player it was Ugo’s contribution to Harlequins that propelled him to International and Lions honours and it was in the red of the British and Irish Lions that he delighted us with arguably his most memorable try. For wingers and indeed any player on the park interception tries are things of beauty, they highlight their speed of thought and their speed on the ground and Ugo's on the 4th July 2009 against the Spingboks has gone down in history as one of the best.
South West London will not quite be the same without its true Harlequin, a Harlequin that has witnessed and created history, a Harlequin that has stood by the club during the highs and the lows and done so in style. There is absolutely no doubt about the fact that the next chapter of the life and works of Ugo Monye will be just as successful. The bright lights of the media and BT Sport await where he will set the standard from a fashion perspective and continue to establish himself as a leading summariser and broadcaster.
