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RUGBY-LOVING youngsters living in Bahrain will have the chance of a lifetime to win a dream trip to the 2015 Rugby World Cup (RWC) hosted by England during a sporting spectacular, charity fundraising and cancer awareness weekend full of activities.
An 18-strong party of rugby heroes representing the celebrated Scottish Cancer Crusaders will be visiting the island again from Thursday, November 27 until December 1, en route to the Dubai Sevens.
They’ll play the recently-formed Bahrain Cancer Warriors in the latter’s inaugural fixture at Bahrain Rugby Football Club (BRFC) on the afternoon of Friday, November 28, having run a coaching session for younger players in the morning alongside logistics company DHL Express’ rugby ambassador and sporting legend Steve Thompson, former London Wasps star and England’s most capped hooker, who also visited the kingdom last year.
“It’s going to be a fabulous sporting occasion,” said BRFC chairman Mehdi Honar, who is also the Crusaders’ club president as well as chairman of the Warriors, “and a great way to highlight men’s health issues and support the battle against cancer. The rugby club will have a real carnival atmosphere.”
The Crusaders are a unique team made up of players that have either had cancer themselves or had close family or friends that have been stricken down by the disease. Their aim is to encourage all men to ‘front up’ to cancer.
The visitors will attend the Awali Caledonian Society’s St Andrew’s Ball at the Bapco Club on Thursday night. There will also be a DHL-hosted charity dinner at the Rugby Club in Janabiya on the following evening after the match, which will include the annual Movember charity shave-off for supporters of the global men’s cancer awareness campaign.
The coaching for children will continue over the weekend. DHL Express, the official logistics partners of RWC 2015, will be giving one lucky child, between the age of eight and 15, the opportunity to attend the tournament and personally deliver the official match ball to the referee at one of the games prior to kick-off.
The lucky youngster will win an all-expenses-paid trip to London with a guardian and receive a ‘memento’ pack to bring back with him consisting of the rugby uniform and signed photos. DHL will be giving the same opportunity to 47 other children across the globe, and a child will hand-over the ball at the start of each of the 48 matches.
Abdul Aziz Busbate, DHL Express Bahrain Country Manager, said: “We are actively involved in rugby the world over and are proud to be spreading this sporting philosophy and comradeship in all the local countries we operate in. Bahrain has a very strong sporting culture and we are happy to be engaging and inspiring the local youth, offering them this unforgettable experience to be active participants in one of the world’s most exciting games.”
Sam Wilson, BRFC sports co-ordinator, said: “All BRFC junior rugby members will be eligible if they attend training on Saturday, November 29, at the Rugby Club from 11am. The club is really looking forward to a fantastic weekend that brings together many important values that the game of rugby union is built on.
“You will see hundreds of kids enjoying rugby throughout (BFRC’s junior rugby section will be hosting a series of junior matches against BISAK – the British International School of Al Khobar) as a curtain raiser, followed by the veterans of the game – some in their 50s and 60s – who still get huge enjoyment from strapping on their boots and throwing themselves into a very physically demanding sport.
“There is an important charity aspect. Our great club will again be making a large donation to support this important charity and after battling it out on the rugby pitch on Friday, both teams will come together after the final whistle to congratulate each other and share in the evening festivities.”
The 2015 RWC will take place from September 18 to October 31, with matches taking place around England and Wales followed by a final staged at Twickenham. This draw prize is being sponsored by DHL as part of its role as official logistics partner of the tournament.
DHL Express, the world’s leading logistics provider, has its Middle East and Africa distribution hub headquartered in Bahrain.
The company’s global sponsorship manager Fiona Taag said: “DHL has a great history working in rugby, delivering services for Rugby World Cups, British and Irish Lions tours, Rugby Unions, clubs and teams around the globe.”
Sal Wilson and Steve Harrison are vice-chairmen of Bahrain Cancer Warriors, a team formed earlier this year after they and Honar had been invited to play for the Scottish Crusaders against Wasps Vets at Murrayfield, the home of Scottish rugby, as reported in GulfWeekly.
British Ambassador to Bahrain, Iain Lindsay, has agreed to be honorary president. “All of our services and time are free, of course,” explained Harrison. “No-one receives any payment for playing or administering the team and its functions. We are very grateful for everyone who contributes time and financial support for the team and its objectives.”
Harrison continued: “We’re a charity rugby team essentially, but like our Scottish cousins, the main objective is to raise awareness of men’s cancers, specifically prostate and testicular – a bloke’s version of the wonderful work that our Think Pink female colleagues have undertaken here over a decade, if you will.
“We hope to offer free pitch-side testing for prostate cancer indicators and advice, as our cousins have done at their matches in Scotland.”
DHL is sponsoring the Friday night dinner although Bahrain Cancer Warriors’ main sponsors are Heston and Tuboscope. Other sponsors, whose names also appear on the BCW shirts, include Offshore Investor, LeBeck International, BDS, IRM and Kukri.
Men, in general, don’t talk about cancer as illness is often deemed to be a sign of weakness and, anyway, going to the doctors is an inconvenience to most men and some are even too embarrassed to raise the subject of their manhood in front of even their own doctor, the campaigners say.
Mark Dainter, the Crusaders CEO and founder member, said: “Sadly these are just the things that are causing many men to die, simply embarrassing themselves to death.
“In fact 41 per cent of men leave it a year before visiting their doctor with symptoms of prostate cancer; this is a statistic that simply has to change. Many young boys are also too embarrassed to speak to their own mothers about testicular cancer. This is another thing that must change in the future.”
For further details email sports.coordinator@bahrainrfc.com
