On the evening of  Friday 26^th February the inaugural England  Legends  v  Ireland  Legends match for the Stuart Mangan Memorial Cup is being held at The Stoop in Twickenham.  The Legends charity match, a fundraiser for paralysed rugby players, will provide the perfect opener to a great weekend of rugby with the Six Nations clash the following day.

The Legends game will see some of the big names of English and Irish rugby go head-to-head one more time, with those involved including Shane Byrne, Martin Corry, Rob Henderson, Jason Robinson, David Humphreys, Mike Catt, Richard Wallace, Josh Lewsey, Conor O'Shea, Jason Leonard and Peter Clohessy, to name but a few.

After the game there will be plenty of entertainment - bands playing in the main bar and plenty of food and drinks to be had to make a great night of it. Corporate hospitality is also available for those who would be interested.

Let me explain the background: The game was conceived to raise money for Stuart Mangan, who was paralysed from the high neck following a rugby accident whilst playing for Hammersmith & Fulham RFC in April 2008.  Stuart required 24hour medical care for his every basic need, and The Stuart Mangan Appeal was launched to fundraise with patrons including Keith Wood, Ronan O'Gara and Jason Leonard.  Stuart sadly passed away in August 2009 having contracted pneumonia, but his family have chosen for the match to go ahead in his memory and to raise necessary funds to support other injured players.

With this in mind, the beneficiary charities from the proceeds of the Legends game are Keith Wood's Paralysed Rugby Players' Fund, The Matt Hampson Trust and the IRFU Charitable Trust. Matt Hampson suffered a similar accident to Stuart whilst training with England U-21s and provided friendship and support to Stuart. The Legends game is kindly sponsored by the Byrne Group and ValidusRe, so 100% of the funds raised will go to these deserving charities.

Tickets can be purchased (£10 for adults and £5 for kids) by clicking on the link below, where you will also find information on the teams and Corporate Hospitality contacts. 

www.englandirelandlegends.co.uk