My Life in Rugby: Chris Fortey – former Gloucester, Worcester and Hartpury hooker

I  loved playing in the front row with my twin brother Lee at Worcester – it was always enjoyable and pretty entertaining when we got together.
We’re best mates as well as brothers and to hook up with him at the same club was quite nice. It was also quite an achievement.
Being a twin brother you have a bit of an instinct. You are always looking out for one another as well, which can be a bad thing. We had played against each other in the front row before that, which was odd. You want each other to do well but you also want to win – it was better playing with him than against him.
I didn’t really play rugby until I went to secondary school – I played football up to 12. My brother and I did everything together and our PE teacher, Clive Stuart-Smith, said to us ‘fancy trying rugby?’
We played for a number of clubs and were together in the Gloucester system until Richard Hill came in as director of rugby – that is when Lee went to Moseley.
The game went pro in 1995 and six months later I got offered my first full-time contract by Richard Hill. I jumped at it.
You need a bit of luck. It’s about being in the right place at the right time. I was third choice at first but both other hookers got serious injuries and I didn’t look back after that.
The year we won the Powergen Cup was a real highlight – I didn’t start but the squad we had then was very close and very tight.
As a child you dream of playing for your hometown club and that is something I relished and something I really enjoyed. You can’t take away how much it means to put on that shirt.
The 2002/03 season was outstanding. What made it special was the squad – I still speak to those guys.
We had a great pre-season tour to Durban and we came back and won the league by 15 points. I didn’t play every week but was involved in a lot of games.
But I broke my ankle against Sale the following season – probably the lowest point of my career.
Things had been going well on the pitch and I was starting more or less every week. Things were looking good and I was starting to get a bit of recognition on the international scene, too.
There’s no good time to get injured but it was especially bad and being injured without a club is a very frustrating time in your career.
Fortunately I got picked up by Worcester and my time there was brilliant. They took a chance on me because I was injured at the time and I ended up having seven good years there.
When we got relegated there were a lot of things going on off the pitch. But we bounced straight back, actually scoring in the last few minutes of the semi-final against Bedford. It was a great achievement.
There were lots of highs in my career but the injuries are the hardest. Fortunately I only had a couple of serious ones but it can be a lonely place on your own.
The highs certainly outweigh the lows, though.
The success we had at Gloucester in the Powergen Cup, finishing top of the league and playing for England A.
I was never lucky enough to get a full cap but I tried my hardest to get one. Your career is over before you know it but I enjoyed every minute of mine.