El-Abd grew up in the Sussex village of Saltdean, around five miles along the coast from Brighton. His Egyptian father, Saied, and English mother, Catherine, met on holiday in Greece and, as Adam tells it, “she invited him over here to say ‘hi’. He said ‘hi’ and that resulted in three kids and 50 years of marriage.”
All three brothers become sportsmen with Adam representing Brighton from 2003 to 2014 while Sammy is currently coaching at Horsham Football Club.
Adam says the family had no great sporting pedigree but what all three brothers inherited was their parents’ industriousness. “Their work ethic was extraordinary both in their jobs and ferrying us around to various sport clubs,” Adam said. “Without that, none of us would have got to where he did.”
While at Bath University, El-Abd moved into a flat on 13 Lower Oldfield Park alongside a certain Steve Borthwick with their landlord being then Bath flanker Russell Earnshaw. “They were both quiet and determined young men,” Earnshaw said. “You could tell they had bright futures.”
Ankle break led to Bristol move
Unfortunately for El-Abd, shortly after making his Bath debut against Leeds in the back row, he broke his ankle. By the time that he recovered he was sent on loan to Welsh side Caerphilly where as a 23-year-old he ended up captaining the side that reached the 2003 European Shield final.
Later that summer, he left Bath to move to Bristol where he was made captain again by coach and former England scrum half Richard Hill, who quickly identified the mongrel qualities he prized.
“He was totally uncompromising,” Hill said. “He put his head in places where other people wouldn’t put their feet. He was just 100 per cent. He played touch rugby and was trying to put in shots on people and trying to pinch the ball at the ruck.
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