Crawley to host rugby legends international

It will be held in conjunction with the OIiver’s Wish Foundation www.oliverswish.org.uk, with all proceeds going to charity.

Oliver’s Wish is a charity set up by a prominent member of the club and former first team captain whose son Oliver tragically died in his sleep just before his second birthday in October 2015.

The main focus of the foundation this year is to help raise funds for Sonny’s Dream to Walk.

Sonny is a little boy from the local area who was born prematurely with Cerebral Palsy and his family are looking to raise £80,000 to undergo a pioneering operation to enable him to walk.

So far, they are have raised £30,000 but their time is pressing as ideally Sonny will have the operation within the next year for the highest chance of success and we believe we can go a long way to helping his family achieve their dream.

Last year they managed to raise around £30,000. This year’s event is an expansion on that one and now runs over two days.

The Saturday, May 27 is the main day and at its centre-piece has a ‘Legends’ Rugby Match at 3pm featuring two full teams of ex-internationals representing British and Irish Lions Legends and Southern Hemisphere Legends.

The latest sign-ups include famous names such as former Lion Lee Mears, ex-Australia international Justin Harrison and ex-Wales players, Sonny Parker and Alix Popham.

There is also a rugby academy for around 600 kids run by Harlequins Rugby Club, a kiddies’ funfair, food stalls and bear tent and bands and music on throughout the day.

Sunday, May 28 is a smaller event that features a Fatboys Sevens tournament featuring a weighting system to enable players of all ages and sizes to take part.

Anyone under the age of 35 must wear fancy dress.