News
TRH attend a charity rugby match in aid of Help the Heroes
20th September 2008
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall watched rugby stars play in a charity match in support of injured British army heroes today.
Rugby World cup winner Martin Johnson was part of an all star line-up of sportsmen who played in a exciting match at Twickenham in front of more than 52,000 fans.
The ex-England captain was joined by former colleagues Lawrence Dallaglio, Richard Hill and Jason Robinson in a Help for Heroes XV.
Their opponents were an International XV captained by former Wales centre Scott Gibbs and both teams featured up and coming rugby stars and players from the Armed Forces.
The match was in aid of the charity Help for Heroes which hopes to raise £1million from the event for the rehabilitation of Armed Forces personnel injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The charity Help for Heroes will benefit from the sporting event and intends to use the money to fund projects at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court in Surrey.
The Prince and The Duchess support the Armed Forces and their families in whatever way they can.
The Prince visits Headley Court on a regular basis and meets injured soldiers whenever he can, for example at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, and is also Patron of a number of organisations that support the welfare of Armed Forces personnel.
The Prince is Colonel-in-Chief of a number of army regiments, and The Duchess is Royal Colonel of 4th Battalion, The Rifles.
After the match, The Prince and The Duchess met injured soldiers, many with missing limbs, who are being treated at Headley Court.
During the brief reception, The Duchess was wearing a Help for Heroes wrist band to show her support for the charity.
Help for Heroes won the pulsating tie 29-10 in a match where neither team held back and competed strongly for the winning trophy.
Rugby player Lawrence Dallaglio described the response from the public to the event as "magnificent."
He said: "The battles these guys are involved in are not going to go away, what's going on in Afghanistan and Iraq, from talking to them, is going to be going on for quite some time.
"So clearly this charity is going to need support and help for many, many years to come. And it will certainly get that from rugby as it will from the public."
He added: "We've met some of the guys who have suffered the consequences of what's going on in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. We've talked to some of the servicemen over the last few days, they've lost friends and we can't even contemplate that really.
"I've been amazed by the courage, just to get on with things, that these guys show."
Dallaglio captained the Heroes XV, who scored four tries to their opponents two in the match played in bright summer sunshine.
Amongst the guests in the stand were Defence Secretary Des Browne and other dignitaries from the military.
The good natured crowd featured many family groups and some supporters even dressed in costume, with one couple disguised as Batman and Catwoman.
The Prince enjoyed the match, at times sitting on the edge of his seat when the Heroes side almost scored, and joining in with a Mexican wave that swept around the stadium.
Prince William and Prince Harry organised the City Salute last year to help raise funds for Headley Court, Help the Heroes and the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA).