Tonight will be a first for the sport of rugby as Rugby Aid arrives in London and former professionals and celebrities will clash for the inaugural fixture. England will take on the Rest Of The World in front of a packed house at the Twickenham Stoop and as the match will be televised live on BT Sport there is absolutely nowhere to hide for the celebrities or the former professionals!Soccer Aid has firmly established itself in the diary and has raised over £15m to date for UNICEF and the hope is that from hereon in Rugby Aid will take it’s own place in the sporting calendar and raise a similar amount for the extremely deserving cause that is Rugby For Heroes. Rugby For Heroes supports our military personnel in the transition back into civilian life, a transition that many can find challenging and delivers the support and assistance required.
The man leading the charge from a Rugby Aid respective is Mike Tindall, as a patron of the Rugby For Heroes Charity, a 2003 Rugby World Winner and someone that has a huge book of contacts he is without question the right man for the job! Mike has spearheaded a tremendous recruitment campaign and whilst his efforts to secure Russell Crowe's services didn't quite come through, the suite of former professionals and celebrity team mates that he has helped to recruit is outstanding.
The names Simon Shaw, Iain Balshaw, Lee Meyers, Al Kellock, Jason Robinson and Shane Williams give you an indication of the calibre of rugby player that will be running out at The Stoop. These men will be joined by many that ignited our Aviva Premiership competition last season including Tom May, Brad Thorn and Mark Cueto and together they'll form the rugby backbone of both sides.
As you’d expect the celebrities joining them, even with a fair few months of gym work in the bank, are feeling the nerves. The sight of the aforementioned Brad Thorn in the flesh and the realisation that none of the former professionals had lost any of their pace or strength, has caused a spot of concern. One man that we are are used to seeing as part of Made In Chelsea, Jamie Laing, has shown a strong skill set in training. Jamie actually played a good deal of rugby at school, was part of Worcester's Academy and even played England U16s however even with that background he remains apprehensive;
“It is every school boys dream to play in this match, I grew up watching Tinds, Balsh and Jason Robinson playing rugby on the TV and here I am training with them. It is very daunting, the pure size of the guys, how good they still are and of course the fact that Serge Betsen is gunning for me!! My tactics are that I’m going to try and take him out first and just absolutely smash him, I think I've got one bit hit in me and that's it!!!”
From a former professional’s perspective the question that has divided opinion the most is what to do when a celebrity runs at you!? Instinct and competitive spirit says ‘nail him’ and in all honesty a fair few of the guys including Tom May and Iain Balshaw said that however for others there is a spot of concern at going full tilt.
As with all good invitational sides the Rugby Aid teams went out for a good old team bonding session earlier in the week and rumour has it that Bryan McFadden took to the microphone and delivered a song or two!! Spirits are high going into the inaugural Rugby Aid fixture, the line ups are outstanding and I wholeheartedly recommend that you join me tonight The Stoop to support the two teams and of course Rugby for Heroes.
Rugby Aid kicks-off at the Twickenham Stoop at 7.45pm on Friday 4th September. Tickets are £20 and available to buy via www.tickets.quins.co.uk or on the night with all proceeds going to Rugby For Heroes, which raises funds and awareness through the sport of rugby to support military personnel. Rugby Aid is also exclusively live on BT Sport 1 from 7.00pm.
