Australia's Adam Ashley-Cooper helps his dying friend see Wallabies in the Rugby World Cup before his tragic death
Ashley-Cooper's childhood team-mate, Guy Grinham, sadly died earlier this week but was able to tick seeing the Wallabies in action off his bucket list
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Your support makes all the difference.Australia wing Adam Ashley-Cooper is preparing for the third Rugby World Cup quarter-final of his illustrious Wallabies career, so he’d be forgiven for focusing on matters at hand rather than those of the field.
But the utility back made a touching gesture at Twickenham last week to organise plans for a dying friend to watch Australia beat Wales in the Pool A decider.
Ashley-Cooper was praised for his game-changing tackle on Wales fly-half Dan Biggar to win a penalty and relieve over 10 minutes of desperate defending from the two-time world champions. Watching on from a box in the stands was his friend, Guy Grinham, who was diagnosed with cancer a year and a half ago and given a short length of time left to live by doctors.
One thing on Grinham’s bucket list was to see the Wallabies in World Cup action, and he looked like he would get his wish when he flew to England for the tournament. However, as Ashley-Cooper says, Grinham took a turn for the worse after landing in the United Kingdom and doctors rang his parents in order to travel to England to say their goodbyes.
"A year and a half ago he was diagnosed with cancer, and just recently he was given a brief amount of time to live," Ashley-Cooper told the Sydney Morning Herald. "Along with the help of his brother and best mate, he put together a bucket list. And on that bucket list was to watch the Wallabies at the World Cup.
It was the least I could do, to go there and represent the group. We were on the bucket list, and that is pretty special
"He was on his way over to watch but when he got off the plane he went downhill significantly. The cancer spread into his vertebrae, so he had to get to hospital. The nurses told him to ring his parents about coming over to give them their final goodbyes, because he didn't have much time left.
"We organised a signed jersey, and I went and saw him in hospital [before the match against Wales]. We talked about playing footy when we were younger, and what the Wallabies were doing, instead of talking about the position he was in."
31-year-old Ashley-Cooper, who has already won 111 caps for his country with an incredible 105 of those coming as starts, helped put into place plans that would allow Grinham to see the match from a hospital bed set-up at Twickenham.
Tragically, Grinham died in the days after the match, but Ashley-Cooper was able to see him smiling after the match as the wing made his way through the stands and the hundreds of Australian supporters that were celebrating the victory over Wales to visit his friend.
"He passed away earlier this week," says Ashley-Cooper. "He was my age - 31. He had a wife and two kids. It's a sad story. But I'm really happy I got to share a moment with him after the win. It was the least I could do, to go there and represent the group. We were on the bucket list, and that is pretty special."
Grinham played junior rugby with Ashley-Cooper on the Central Coast in Australia and went on to become a referee in the Shute Shield as well as a matchday official in Super Rugby. The Australia squad held a moment of silence at training on Monday morning in memory of Grinham, and will hope to pay a fitting tribute to him by winning their quarter-final this weekend against Scotland.
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