Seven local rugby players have tackled their way into the Guinness World Record books – by playing the sport non-stop for over 30 hours.
March Bears stars Simon Althoff, Kris Feaviour, Ben Pyle, James Knight, Simon Whittaker, Ben Howells and Simon Hayes joined more than 30 other players from across the country in taking on the challenge on Friday to raise funds for two charities – the Fire Fighters Charity and Scotty’s Little Soldiers.
Each of the 23 players on each side wore a GPS tag to ensure they played continuously, with an hour’s work rewarded with a five minute rest.
Players needing a rest were allowed to sleep in tents around the pitch, and food was supplied by a local branch of Sainsbury’s.
After battling with aching limbs and less-than ideal weather conditions, the players emerged on Saturday unscathed and having raised almost £50,000 for the two charities.
Kris Feaviour, who has raised over £1,000 for the Fire Fighters Charity so far, said: “My legs were a little troublesome the day after but I feel OK now.
“Everybody who took part, to a man, completed around 29 and-a-half hours of rugby.
“All of the March Bears boys were heavily involved and everyone walked away from it highly emotionally charged. Between us we’ve raised over £7,000, which is fantastic.
“We all made friends for life there and it was a great experience.”
Kris’ side was victorious on the day, scoring 1,603 points to the Scotty’s Little Soliders team’s 1,483 at Worcester’s Sixways Stadium.
“My brother was involved in a car accident and fire fighters cut him from his car,” Kris added.
“Those guys deal with some of the most horrific and horrendous incidents and I couldn’t think of a better way to thank those heroes who were there to help my brother escape his own terrifying moment, than to support the charity that takes care of them.”
The 31-hour challenge – which equated to a whole season of rugby in just one day – was Simon Whittaker’s second attempt at breaking the world record.
He was a member of the Scotty’s Little Soldiers team that broke the original record of 24 hours in 2013.
• To donate to Kris’ JustGiving page, click here.
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