Bob French caught up with him ahead of the big occasion... and at 70 years old he didn't take much catching.

BENNY Lee will spend his 70th birthday doing what he loves best . . . playing rugby.

And if that's not remarkable enough, he'll do so on Saturday a few months after a shoulder operation and just days after his heart stopped beating!

"Apparently I was suffering from atrial fibrillation so last week I had to have a cardioversion," said Benny.

"What that means is that my heart chambers had got out of sync. So they stopped my heart beating and then started it up again to get the correct rhythm back.

"It's like rising from the dead, I suppose, but when I asked if there was any chance of having it done at Easter, they didn't see the funny side of it.

"I'm OK now. I've just got to take it carefully."

And for Benny that doesn't necessarily mean retiring from a sport that has been his life for 55 years. While the old ticker keeps ticking, he'll keep on playing.

Do you know an incredible sportsman as old as Benny?
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"Many years ago I had a little bet with a friend of mine. He was a doctor I played rugby with in London on a Sunday and I pledged that I would play until I was 70. It was over a few beers of course but I was determined to see it through – a case of one-upmanship I suppose."

So is Saturday's special birthday match at Peterborough Rugby Club the end of the road? Benny wouldn't give a straight answer.

"I'm taking it easy because of the heart business but if I'm fit enough to continue playing then I think I will," he said, making sure his 'little lady' (partner Pauline) was well out of earshot.

"Last season I hurt my shoulder in a tackle – some big bloke landed on top of me – and I had to have an operation. It meant I missed the back end of last season and I must admit I felt deprived. And I don't like watching. Because I'm so arrogant I always think I can play better than the blokes on the pitch.

"I just can't imagine myself never ever playing rugby again. I have had a wonderful life due to rugby and I don't want it to end.

When Benny first moved to Peterborough in 1978 to take up a teaching post at Jack Hunt School, in Netherton, he was 40 and his best playing days were behind him.

But he had enjoyed 20 years of playing at the very top level, taking in first-class clubs like Cheltenham, St Luke's College, Harlequins and Richmond.

"I played with loads of internationals – players like Mike Davis, Jeff Young, Ron Jones and Don Rutherford – and I even came across the famous Pontypool front row. I know all about them, they trampled all over me.

"I've met lots of great people through rugby and travelled the world on tours. One thing I always wanted to do was play the game in all six continents.

"Well, I've played in Australia, the Far East, South Africa and North America but I've never played in South America. I missed out on a tour once to Argentina because of injury – my shoulder I think – and that has to have been one of my biggest disappointments in the game.

"But you never know, I might suddenly fly out to Argentina one day with my boots and ask for a game."

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