Lawrence Dallaglio MBE joins local schools in 'long pass relay'
Last week (18th September) England rugby legend and Ham resident Lawrence Dallaglio was on hand to help dozens of school children from Hounslow mark the one-year countdown to the start of the Rugby World Cup in 2015 with a giant rugby ball relay.
Lawrence, who was part of the England team which won the World Cup Down Under in 2003, received the one-thousand-and-fourth and final pass to complete the mammoth event, which saw around 100 local school kids pass a rugby ball from Redlees Park in Isleworth to Twickenham Stadium, ending at the famous Line-Out statue outside the South Stand.
Speaking after the event, Dallaglio praised the kids involved: "I have to say, all the schools and rugby clubs from around the area did a fantastic job - none of them dropped the ball, which is more than can be said for a few professional players I've seen!" He then expressed a hope that a home World Cup would introduce more young children to rugby and get them involved in the sport. A video of the relay and of Lawrence Dallaglio talking afterwards can be seen below:
Children from seven schools in Hounslow Borough were involved: Gunnersbury, Chiswick, Heathlands, Cranford, Green School, Isleworth and Syon and Heston Community School. The event was in partnership with Hounslow Council, with Councillors Steve Curran, Leader of the Council, and Amritpal Mann, the Deputy Leader, on hand to signal the start and finish to the kids' relay.
After blowing the hooter to signal the end of the relay, Curran said: “Having Rugby World Cup 2015 on Hounslow’s doorstep is really exciting for the whole borough. I am a massive fan of the game, and Hounslow, with Heathrow next door, it’s London’s international gateway, so our rich multicultural borough is ideally placed to host tens of thousands of fans wanting to enjoy a fantastic festival of rugby.”
In line with the World Cup, to be hosted in England and Wales in Autumn 2015, Hounslow Council and several local schools are working with the RFU to develop a new rugby programme for young people in the borough. Cranford and Heston, along with the Rivers Academy, Feltham Community College and Lampton School, have all signed up to the programme, which aims to deliver a strong coaching system and promote links between the schools and local rugby clubs.
September 25, 2014