THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, November 2, 1994            TAG: 9411020611
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: C4   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY SARAH MISKIN, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   50 lines

YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD FOR RUGBY AT 60, TOM WEST STILL RUNS WITH HIS YOUNGER TEAMMATES.

Not many 60-year-olds get asked to show their drivers' licenses as proof of their age, but Tom West had to drag his out Saturday to prove to a college kid that he will be 61 in January.

It is hardly surprising the kid took some convincing. Even fewer 60-year-olds play rugby, a game known for its physical demands.

Eighty minutes of play with a 10-minute interval is a fitness challenge for even the young of body and heart.

West was a late starter as a rugby player, even by U.S. standards. Most players don't enter the game until their college years here. He began playing six years ago, as a not-so-fit 54-year-old, after watching two of his sons play.

``I went out to an Ed Lee match (the state championship) and I thought it looked like rather inviting.''

While his sons hung up their boots after marrying, West has not looked back since turning up for his first practice with the Norfolk City Blues. It took him a year to get in shape, but he now is what coach Billy Wilson calls a ``stellar second side player.''

His dedication to the game and the effort he puts into training, attending practice twice a week and working out at a gym three times a week earned him a first side match against Charlottesville on Saturday. The Blues won, 50-5.

West's wife, Shirley, cuts him a lot of slack, he says, and is very supportive. His mother, a sprightly 91-year-old Miami Dolphins fan, also takes an interest.

``I'm not sure if she knows what rugby is,'' West says, ``but she asks every now and again if I'm still playing that game. `Yeah, mom.' ''

West, who says he has had fewer injuries playing rugby in his 50s than football in his youth, believes he has another two active years with the Blues.

``Each year practice is a little bit harder,'' he admits. He also tends to go home after a game while his teammates may celebrate their victory.

``I need to rest a little bit.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

VICTOR VAUGHAN/Landmark News Service

Tom West allows that he may have only two more years as an active

player for the Blues.

by CNB