Rugby and music, two things that you may not immediately put together, perhaps rugby and mud are better bed fellows however every year Nordoff Robbins prove that the former fit together as seamlessly as the latter at their 6 Nations Dinner. The dinner is always held in honour of a particular player and of course highlights the superb work that the charity does across the country. As you'll know here at Out On The Full I like to highlight some of the off the field events and charities associated with our great game and Nordoff Robbins is one.
Personally I came into contact with the 6 Nations Dinner before the days of Out On The Full when I attended three years ago and I was immediately taken with the work that Nordoff Robbins do and how it can make a phenomenal difference to the lives of individuals that previously thought that progress wasn't possible. This year's dinner marked the 20th Anniversary of the event and the man in the spotlight was none other than Harlequins' Nick Easter. Nick has 250 plus Harlequins appearances to his name and 47 England caps, whether he will add to that from an International perspective remains to be seen however for Harlequins he continues to defy his age. Nick is one of a number of rugby players and stars that are fully involved with the charity and indeed the lady that kicked off the evening with a beautiful rendition of her own song and the rugby classic Jerusalem, Laura Wright is another. Laura is an ambassador for Nordoff Robbins, indeed she ran her third marathon for them last year and continues to promote their work whenever she can.
It wouldn't have been a rugby dinner without Martin Bayfield leading proceedings and a few stories and antidotes from some of the famous faces there... Ugo Monye kick started proceedings with a 'choice' story that involved a European trip, Nick Easter being grabbed during the match where he'd prefer not to have been and the prank that followed after. Needless to say the audience loved it, Nick wished that Ugo had chosen a different story and Martin just smiled! Once the ice was broken Nick's rugby achievements were praised, England Women's Captain Katy McClean relived their World Cup Glory, Chris Robshaw looked ahead to the 2015 World Cup and Will Greenwood provided some superb insight. However there was one lady that stole the show and that was the mother of a young boy who is receiving music therapy from Nordoff Robbins, her story brought home to us all the very real impact Nordoff Robbins and their music therapists can have on real peoples lives. She didn't sugar coat it or gloss it up, instead she explained how music therapy helped her son make his first ever sound after thinking that she may never hear the sound of his voice. It was emotional and humbling for even the largest of rugby players in the room. 
Nordoff Robbins continues to work tirelessly to change lives and their Rugby Dinner is just one of a whole host of phenomenal events that they put on annually. It is an event that has a huge 'do not miss' sign parked on it for every year the room is filled with current and former players enjoying themselves and supporting a superb charity. You know it is a great night when Jeremy Guscott is on the table next to you and he is kick starting drinking games and Victor Ubogu is dishing out tickets to the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final as raffle prizes left, right and centre. I hope that this has given you a feel for a what is always a stunning rugby dinner and has brought to your attention the work of the superb charity it is held in honour of, Nordoff Robbins.All Images (C) Dean Fardell
