12290 Rob Gundling, RRMC Class of 1979, “The Gunge”

“The Gunge” was a Roadent who graduated in Physics and Oceanography in 1979.  He went on to flying despite his injuries but his subsequent whereabouts are unknown to me. I last saw him in Shearwater and he walked with a noticeable limp!  

The Gunge was the originator of the “Rugby Only” chit. Playing to the point of injury each Saturday, Gunge would report as required for physio on Monday morning. I often spent time chatting with him and the Trainer, Wes Birnell (a former RCN boxing champ and trainer to the Habs), while relaxing in the whirlpools baths and reading the paper (Academics were much simpler then!). He would then be given Light Duties through to Friday, which allowed him to recuperate for the game the next Saturday. Free of the need to attend practices, The Gunge relied on pure talent to carry him through. He was often the team points leader too! 

Rob was also heavily dependent on athletic tape. He would appear for games taped from midway up both shins to up above his shorts. This, he said, made his knees impervious to attack. His constant limp told you that in fact it did not. In his senior year, Rob abandoned taping himself since he realized that the streaks of white had become targets. This meant team requirements for tape were cut in half. Today DND has drastically cut the athletic tape budget and the Gunge could never survive.      

The Gunge’s arm would often fall out of it’s socket. This did not however mean he left the game. With two rep teams supplied from only 300 Cadets there was always a shortage of subs so one had to play on! Long time Coach Dr. Maurice Lancaster, Dean Of Science, insisted on it. I played for weeks with a cracked rib myself and was told by MIR staff to keep putting the ice on it! The Team Captain, 12263 Darcy Byrtus, seemed to be the only one who could properly push The Gunge’s arm back in its socket without the need to   leave the field. I tried myself from time to time but only made things worse. You had to “push the arm in AND down!” to get it to return to the socket. As a result, Gundling and Byrtus developed a codependent relationship where one could not play without the other.

 Once his arm was back in place, you had to tape across the Gunge’s bad shoulder and under the good arm to keep it from falling out again. This was done
 

under the jersey on most occasions so as not to alert the opposing team. It didn’t always work! This limited the Gunge’s passing skills, and after a dislocation he could only really pass effectively to the left side. To compensate, The Gunge would often dummy the ball the other way.  

You might ask how Rob could survive the PT Test with all this damage. He would lay off all summer in order to surpass 450 in the Fall and therefore be exempted from subsequent tests, as was the custom at the time. This would then allow him to deteriorate over the rest of the season. Corporal Tom “Bagdrive” Bowie, the toughest PERI in NATO, also ensured that he passed by counting his chin ups “by twos”. Bowie enjoyed being a Corporal so much he returned to this rank a number of times. I was terrified that all Corporals were like him since I was his ‘volunteer’ for Recruit wresting class demonstrations. He lives in Cabo San Lucas now where the warm weather is kind to his ailing joints.   

Despite bad knees, The Gunge could fly! Rob was fit to play, even when badly banged up-perhaps the most important of all officer-like qualities. His smoking did not interfere either. During the game, players cannot leave the field at half time, so Rob would produce matches and a bent, mangled smoke from his rugby shorts for a quick puff along with his fellow smoking partner 13268 Dave Rector. The Vice Commandant, 5758 Commander Michael Morres, frowned on this behaviour as unofficer-like and insisted they only smoke on field during away games.  

I remember Rob Gundling limping away after seeing him last.. He was a credit to the spirit of the CMC’s-at that time! Academics were not taken too seriously as there was a vast amount of sports and parade practicing to be done! Royal Roads had a huge Navy influence too with its reliance on “common dog”-RMC was a shock to the system for those of us that arrived for third year. For ex-Roadent rugby players who often played against nationally ranked players in the Vancouver Island Rugby Union, the Queen’s students we ran into just fell down like cord wood!  

I don’t believe The Gunge played much rugby after graduating, he would not have stood up to it. I always thought of him as the Straw Man-his stuffing kept falling out!  A tip of the cap to 12290 Rob Gundling, my nomination as one of rugby’s  hardest nuts.      

Perhaps there are other interesting sports figures from RMC’s past player’s who may compare?