Ludlam or Ludlow? The Times with an almighty blunder

It’s not been an easy few weeks for premiership rugby, with rumours of clubs in big financial turmoil and players trying to force exits over unpaid wages. With reports of premiership clubs being in over 500 million pounds worth of debt, we do seem to need some lighthearted news to brighten people’s spirits.

The Times attempted to do just this, with a nice puff piece on Gloucester Flanker and club Captain, Lewis Ludlow. The write-up was due to be a nice little ‘get to know Lewis’ section. You know the type, what his favourite meal is…what’s the worst hangover he’s ever had, the sort of questions you might ask when trying to get to know someone.

Now, this would have been a cosy article to warm the heart and then forget about, if it wasn’t for the photo that was used. Yes, that’s right. Not Lewis Ludlow at all, but fellow England international…Lewis Ludlam.

Now, admittedly the two men in question have extremely similar names, and should you be a casual viewer of our game you might be excused for the mix-up. But when it comes to being one of the highest selling newspapers in the UK, maybe it’s worth double checking.

Anyway to cut the long story short, neither Ludlow nor Ludlam were particularly impressed with this blunder:

Really looking forward to seeing what the “SIZEABLE” donation is from the @ST_Sport and @thetimes to the #4Ed just giving page for this shocking piece of journalism again. @gloucesterrugby @SaintsRugby @LewisLudlam pic.twitter.com/rrVONqwzOA

— Lewis Ludlow (@LewisLudlow94) September 4, 2022

Muppets pic.twitter.com/gDFueH5IkI

— Lewis Wesley Ludlam (@LewisLudlam) September 4, 2022

This being said it’s not the first time this has happened in the media, and it won’t be the last. (No doubt we’ll be next). Legendary prop David Flatman had the same unfortunate issue in the past:

Easy mistake to make eh @davidflatman 😉 pic.twitter.com/lQbRMWXx7H

— Harry Rippon (@Harry_Rippon) September 4, 2022

This mistake did receive an incredibly classy response from Nick Greenslade, the Deputy Editor at the Sunday Times Sport, expressing his sheer apologies:

Lewis, this is my fault, Apologies to yourself and @LewisLudlow94 I expect you’re both bored of this mix-up happening. If it makes you feel any better, we’ve already had umpteen readers telling us we’re useless tw@ts. Nick Greenslade

— Nick Greenslade (@Nick_G_sport) September 4, 2022

The unfortunate gaffe from The Times no doubt frustrated the players, but a lesson learned that’s for sure.