Floyd Steadman OBE – an inspiration


Floyd Steadman blazed his own trail in 1980s rugby.

A black scrum-half at a time when that was considered unusual, he became captain of Saracens and a key player for one of the sport’s traditional powerhouses.

But before he even set eyes on a rugby ball, Floyd had overcome – and continued to overcome – huge challenges in his life.

His story deserves to be heard.

As someone who lives in Africa and knows the brilliance of the Kenyan people, it distressed me greatly to see how hard Floyd had to fight to succeed both in rugby and in education.

I’m proud to say that Floyd became a member of the Cornish Pirates family when he married a Penzance girl, who was the sister-in-law of our brilliant historian Phil Westren. We welcome him often to the stands at our home games.

Here is his story… introduced by one of the young lads that he inspired to greatness, Maro Itoje.

For more detail there is a longer interview with Floyd on the Saracens Supporters Association Podcast.

Floyd is introduced 10 minutes into Series 4 Episode 7 released on 18th October 2023:

Want your views heard on the show? Tap here to send us a message!This week is a blend of the good, the bad, and the ugly – and we're not talking about your hosts…Jez, Matt and Barry are with you this week to discuss bouncebackability, with an encouraging performance in victory over Bristol Bears, while there's also a shock defeat to Loughborough Lightning for the women's team in the race for the PWR semi finals.Follow the Fezcast on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube to hear all our latest news first!Click here for subscription links[Disclaimer: The Fezcast is brought to you on behalf of the Saracens Supporters Association and is not an official product of Saracens Ltd]Title Music (from Season 4): "Herald" by This Winter Machine
  1. S5 E19: Lightning Strikes
  2. S5E18: Seeing Red (featuring Richard Barrington & James Isaacs)
  3. S5 E17: Lemsip Special
  4. S5 E16: Whack-on-neuf
  5. S5E15: Bulls Gone with the Wind (Featuring Rob Webber)

Finally, Floyd was awarded the OBE in the first of King Charles’s New Year’s Honours Lists in January 2023 for services to rugby, education and charity.

A top man, deservedly honoured. Congratulations Floyd.