Rugby Stars’ Charitable Efforts During Lockdown

As the world continues in these unprecedented times during the fight against the Coronavirus, all aspects of life as we know it have been impacted. However, whilst a variety of financial packages have been speedily arranged to assist those whose lives have been affected due to the current employment situation, one area that provides a vital service to the community appears to have been over-looked – the many wonderful charities that offer so much to society.
With thousands of charitable events cancelled across the country due to the pandemic, including the London Marathon that was due to take place on Sunday, April 26th, many of these charities have been forced to reduce or stop support in the communities at a time when vulnerable members of society need them most.
Captain Tom Moore has become a National Treasure, raising over £32,000,000 for the NHS by walking 100 lengths of his garden in the lead up to his 100th birthday, however, here in Wales, both former and current rugby players have been adding their support for a variety of good causes.
Ex-Osprey, Ryan Jones, former Captain of Wales and the Welsh Rugby Union’s performance director was among the first to raise funds by completing a marathon in his garden in just under 5 hours. 39-year-old Jones raised just over £8,000 for the Swansea Bay University LHB charitable fund.
Former Wales Wing, Shane Williams and Patron of Velindre Cancer Centre decided to combine the 774 miles he’d committed to during various events this year and instead cycle them all in one go using the indoor cycling app, Zwift. It took 43-year-old Williams 7 days to complete the challenge, raising over £12,500.
Welsh rugby legend and pundit, Jonathan ‘Jiffy’ Davies, President of Velindre NHS Trust opted to partake in a gruelling marathon a day challenge, cycling 26 miles every day for 10 days as part of the 2.6 challenge that encourages the public to get active for charity. He was joined by fellow pundit, Sean Holley and between them, they have raised over £23,000 for Velindre.
Current Welsh International forwards, Dillon Lewis and Cory Hill also selected to go down the cycling route, even though they had previously not spent longer than an hour on a bike, by virtually cycling 220 miles from North to South Wales over a period of two days for Tenovus Cancer Care, a charity that Hill is patron of. They were joined for the second day by Llanelli RFC legend and fellow Tenovus Patron, Rupert Moon, who had himself completed a 2.6 challenge the previous week by cycling a marathon. Despite setting an initial target of £2,200, they have managed to raise over £7,000 for their charity.
One of the more brutal efforts was that of former Dragons player, Ed Jackson who suffered a spinal injury back in 2017. Despite being told he would never walk again; Jackson scaled the height of Everest by climbing his parents’ staircase a crazy 2,783 times. He has surpassed £36,000 for spinal cord charity, Wings For Life along with the NHS.
Former Stradey favourites, Gary Jones and Morgan Stoddart have also been raising funds for Velindre with a huge target of cycling 1,000 miles in May. They have been supported along the way by a whole host of rugby stars including Rhys Priestland, Rob Evans, Lou Reed and Hugh Williams-Jones. Currently, the team have raised a staggering £80,000, with that total rising daily.
Meanwhile, at grassroots level, clubs have also been busy with their money raising efforts. Haverfordwest RFC Under 7’s under the leadership of Simon Gardiner are currently walking a total of 3,436 miles as part of their Six Nations Tour for Charity, with the monies going to the Paul Sartori Foundation.
Last week Whitland RFC and Whitland Ladies undertook a 202 x 2-mile challenge with both teams running 404 miles every day for 7 days. Last December, Laura Setaro, the wife of player/coach Nico was diagnosed with breast cancer. The club decided to channel their efforts to supporting the Setaro family and Laura’s chosen charities. As well as being aided by Welsh Internationals and former players, Aled Davies, Mike Phillips (who notched up his effort from Dubai) and Scarlets’ Team Manager, Sara Davies, good luck messages for the runners flooded in from the big guns, including Dan Carter, Casey Laulala and Cardigan’s very own Andrew ‘Tommo’ Thomas as they continued with their efforts to raise money for CoppaFeel and the NHS. The original target of £4,000 has been smashed, with the total currently just short of £13,000.
Locally, Felinfoel RFC have been raising funds for local care homes with their Monday Mile challenge, their total so far is just over £1,400.
Despite these uncertain times, where rugby pales into insignificance, it is truly wonderful to see these players that have already given so much on the rugby field, give back to the communities that have supported them over the years. Well done all!