There are few more trusted witnesses than the veteran photographer who has been capturing rugby’s big moments for nearly 40 yearsAnyone who has attended a rugby match will have seen him from a distance. The anorak, the slightly rounded shoulders from decades of lugging his equipment around, the broad smile and, at certain times of year, the trademark tan. If there is a game happening Dave Rogers will probably be there photographing it for Getty Images, always assuming he has remembered to remove his lens cap.
![Dave Rogers: ‘My favourite photo? Jonny Wilkinson’s drop goal in 2003’](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/82d860f5b72ba96363589fd9a30e9789072802ef/0_310_5146_3089/master/5146.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdG8tZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=23e2a556c1a74078f67e31a6c877da82)
It is one of the trade’s timeless gags: for as long as newspapers exist there will be snappers (photographers) and hacks (writers) disputing each other’s respective worth. Is every picture really worth a thousand words? According to Rogers, who was patrolling sodden touchlines long before today’s players were even born, it is barely a contest.