Dave may not be known to many of the current players but in the 70s and 80s he was an old school rugby man: hard and ruthless on the pitch and a live wire off the pitch.

On the field, he was a formidable back row player at the time when the club had several "formidable" back row players. He had guile in the dark arts of the rucking laws as they existed at the time and was a strong ball carrier, long before commentators use phrases like, "off-loading the ball in the tackle", "looking for the soft shoulder in the defensive line".

Having graced the 1st XV and 2nd XV, Stoney later came out of retirement to play in the 5th XV (yep - five teams!) With only two home pitches at the time, there were lots of fun away days, and in Dave’s case away weekends.

Dave was not only a regular player on Saturdays but also enjoyed the shenanigans of Easter Tour. Nobody can remember how many tours Dave went on, but there were many. While respecting the old adage of "What goes on tour...." there is one which has become immortalised in the memories of the tourists: Grimsby where he shared a room/chalet with Rudy, Gerry the Bear and a young Goose; a genius choice of roommates. Stoney spent the entire Easter weekend wandering around the chalet in a brightly coloured sarong. However, the Newmarket tour 1983 was without doubt his finest hour: if you know. you know.

Off the field, you could always be guaranteed to be entertained if you were in Dave's company: even if other members at an AGM didn't share the same sense of humour! Dave's stories, of which there were many, were always entertaining, included a club favourite which involved a Vauxhall Viva and a Czechoslovakian race horse: if only someone had the hindsight to record them. Another example is when Dave also supplied the catering for the wedding of a long standing member of the Club. The south malaysian food came as a bit of surprise to some of the guests, particularly as they were supplied chop sticks to eat it with. The grandmother of the bride had carefully carried a three tiered wedding cake up from Wales only for Dave, lacking a suitable knife, cut it up with a meat cleaver!

However it was his restaurant in Hornsey that, before the advent of craft ales, UBER cabs to get you home, often provided the focus of the club to gather on a late Saturday evening, or Sunday, or Monday, or..... Together with his long suffering chef (was he really called Lamb?) the players would gather to tell tales of daring do, or watch as Dave would appear down Hornsey High Street in is Trotting Cart.

Of significance in the Club's history, it was at Dave's restaurant where we held an AGM and after a great meal and many beers we became an open Club and changed our name to Enfield Ignatians RFC. The beer was McMullens, which was how Dave got involved in the Club as Rudy was the rep who sold it to him.

That was Dave, on and off the field. He also provided entertainment wherever he could. Who can forget his goat at the semi-final match at London Welsh: legendary.

What a fantastic character and a decent man who enriched our lives enormously. Great memories Stoney. They have broken the mould.

Many thanks. RIP

Please see below further information provided by Dave's family about the funeral arrangements and the wake afterwards.

The funeral will take place on Thursday 8th June at 11.00am
St Marylebone Crematorium,
East End Rd, Finchley,
London N2 0SE
(Entrance near the Christ's College sign. Parking available on site)

After the ceremony there will be a private committal service with the direct family only.
Attendees will be asked to make their way to the venue for the wake during this time.
Wake: 1pm onwards
Old White Lion
121 Great North Rd,
London N2 0NW
(The 143 bus goes from the cemetery. East Finchley tube station has a small car park and some surrounding areas have non-residential parking after 1pm. This pub is within the ULEZ)).

Please RSVP by 1st June to the email below for both venues, with numbers attending and any dietary requirements.
rsvpdavidstone@gmail.com

The family kindly ask for no flowers at the service. However, if you would like to donate instead please use the following dedicated link to Macmillan Cancer Support in David's name
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/M-STONE2