Some very lucky Teddington vets had the honour of playing on the hallowed turf at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday 25th May, as the Fat Stags took part in the RFU Injured Players Foundation Vets Tournament for the second year in a row.

A combined Teddington and Old Isleworthians vets team played under the ‘Fat Stags’ name and were placed in a pool with Evesham and Old Streetonians. Unfortunately, the Antlers got soundly beaten in both matches, however both opponents had to work extremely hard for the scores. The Fat Stags had their moments in both games, but unfortunately couldn’t convert.

After the conclusion of the pool stages, there was a Super Vets match for the over 50s players. This match is traditionally between a red bib team and a blue bib team, with both teams containing players from all six participating clubs. However due the sheer number of over 50s in the Fat Stags squad, the entire ‘blue’ team was Fat Stags and everybody else played for the ‘red’ team. No bibs were required! This is testament to how important vets rugby is to this club. Many players choose to retire by the age of 35, but Teddington players choose to carry on....and on...... and on.....some into their 70's

The Fat Stags can take pride in both how they played and how they represented the club. A massive thank you must go to our vets skipper Paul Gilheany for organising and coordinating, as well as to our friends at Old Isleworthians.

More important than the rugby however was the fundraising. The club raised an impressive £7,600 for the Injured Players Foundation. We heard first hand at the post-match function from beneficiaries of the foundation and the incredible work they do. Hopefully none of our players will require their services but it is reassuring to know that such an incredible charity exists if we do ever need them.

If you do wish to donate money, you can still do so by clicking on the following link: https://rfuipf.enthuse.com/pf/teddington-rfc-3cee8