Twickenham played host to the Help For Heroes game between a Northern Hemisphere XV and their Southern Hemisphere equivalent. Top players, past and present, as well as servicemen, turned out for the cause, raising half a million pounds in the process.
It was a fantastic occasion and while the game was for a charitable cause and had a few players who retired some time ago, there was a great mix as we got to watch world cup winners Will Greenwood, Phil Waugh, and Adam Thomson in action.
The game was treated seriously as both sides got physical and played some incredibly attractive rugby, as can be seen in the highlights with the try scored by Jackson Willison for the South. It was the North who started out on top though with an outstanding effort from young Saracens hooker Scott Spurling.
In the end the Southern Hemisphere side took the honours 36-22 in front of almost 30 000 fans, raising money and awareness for injured soldiers. The money will go to a state of the art recovery centre for the wounded. This was the second such event, with the first taking place in 2008 and between the two they’ve raised over 2 million pounds for the charity.
“I’m humbled really to be involved. To see what people have done to put this structure in place is amazing,” said Fijian Nicky Little, who came on for the Southern side after flyhalf Sias Ebersohn was stretchered off with a knee injury.
“All of them are amazing people really. They go over there and get injured for whatever reason, come home and don’t get much help from the government. But someone has made this charity and it’s mind-blowing,” he added.
You can find out more about H4H and how you can help by visiting www.helpforheroes.org.uk
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