Legends fixtures have been
running for a number of years now, indeed in Wimbledon there is an annual full
blown Legends Tournament to enjoy in mid-July and you may think that because the
boots have been collecting dust for a few years that the quality of rugby would be not that great!? Well, having attended a fair few Legends' fixtures myself I can assure you that this is not the case whatsoever... these men are legends for a reason and the quality of the rugby remains pretty, pretty high!
Cast your minds back to couple of
months ago and you may remember the last Legends fixture that was held at The
Stoop; England Legends versus Australia Legends, a Rugby World Cup 2003 Revival,
and if you are still struggling to remember let me say the words “Steve
Thompson and Wonder Try” and I’ve no doubt that you will be with me now!
Next Friday (21st
February) The Stoop opens its doors once again as the England Legends taken on
their Irish counterparts in the battle to win the Stuart Mangan Memorial Cup
and of course the bragging rights for another year.
The annual match is played in
memory of Irish rugby player Stuart Mangan, who suffered a dreadful neck injury
while playing for Hammersmith & Fulham RFC in 2008 and sadly passed away in
2009 following complications associated with his injury. Since 2010 this fixture
has raised over £300,000 for injured players and this year all proceeds will go directly to Restart,
RFU Injured Players Foundation and IRFU Charitable Trust.
The captains are Martin
Corry and Shane Bryne who will lead a host of legends out on the pitch including Jason Leonard, Andy Gomarsall, Justin Bishop and many more. England won the fixture quite comfortably last year
however speaking earlier
in the week with former London Wasp and Irish International Johnny O’Connor he certainly fancies Ireland's chances and assured me that his compatriots had been in training to deliver something special in order to take back the
Stuart Mangan Cup.
This fixture is played on the eve of England hosting Ireland at
Twickenham in the RBS 6 Nations and I can assure you that the banter in the
stands will flow as strongly as the Guinness. All that remains for me to say is "I'll see you there"... the full team sheet is below and I've no doubt that you will recognise a fair few names on it, so if you like your rugby, live near (or near ish) to Twickenham then I look forward to seeing you next Friday night for this 'Legendary' game.
The Important Ticket Details are all here and the teams are as follows;
ENGLAND
MARTIN CORRY MBE (C),
JASON LEONARD OBE, ANDY GOMARSALL MBE, PHIL
GREENING, KEVIN
YATES, GARATH ARCHER, HUGH VYVYAN, BEN STURNHAM, JON
PHILLIPS, KRISTIAN
CHESNEY, CHRIS SHEASBY, RORY JENKINS, SPENCER BROWN,
DAN SCARBROUGH, DAVID
REES, SHAUN PERRY, STUART TURNER, DUNCAN BELL,
KEVIN SORRELL, MATT
ALLEN, OLLIE SMITH, JASON KEYTER, JONATHAN GOODRIDGE
IRELAND
SHANE BYRNE (C), LEN DINNEEN, MICK GALWEY, GARY HALPIN,
DAVD CORKERY, DES DILLON,
JUSTIN BISHOP, JEREMY STAUNTON, TREVOR BRENNAN, GEORDAN MURPHY, LIAM TOLAND, MEL
DEANE, FRANKIE SHEAHAN, STEPHEN KEOGH, MOSSY LAWLER, ANTHONY HORGAN, JOHN KELLY,
ADRIAN FLAVIN, JOHNNY O'CONNOR, GARY BROWN, DAVE MOORE, JAN CUNNINGHAM, SIMON
KEOGH, CHRIS KEANE, SIMON MASON, KIERON DAWSON, BARRY EVERITT, CHRIS SAVERIMUTTO
JUSTIN BISHOP, JEREMY STAUNTON, TREVOR BRENNAN, GEORDAN MURPHY, LIAM TOLAND, MEL
DEANE, FRANKIE SHEAHAN, STEPHEN KEOGH, MOSSY LAWLER, ANTHONY HORGAN, JOHN KELLY,
ADRIAN FLAVIN, JOHNNY O'CONNOR, GARY BROWN, DAVE MOORE, JAN CUNNINGHAM, SIMON
KEOGH, CHRIS KEANE, SIMON MASON, KIERON DAWSON, BARRY EVERITT, CHRIS SAVERIMUTTO
