Kent rugby team claim victory in charity tournament

By Tom Masters

A Kent rugby team grabbed victory in a trailblazing annual tournament to raise money for vulnerable and disadvantaged children.

Simon Wright, a 48-year-old sales director, is an avid member and supporter of UK charity Wooden Spoon and played for the county at their Vets Fest 22 event this weekend.

The tournament, held at Birmingham’s Moseley Rugby Football Club, celebrated its second year and featured over 700 players from 16 men’s and 10 women’s Vets teams across the country.

And with rugby playing such an important role in his own life, Wright was delighted to give back to the community on a day where his team reigned supreme in the Midlands.

Wright, who was greeted by HRH, The Princess Royal and was joined by fellow players from Dartford and Tunbridge Wells, said “I think it’s very important because it really raises awareness.

“A lot of the guys here didn’t play last year, but the guys that did went back to their clubs and said you need to have a go at this.

“It’s a great way of raising money and a brilliant way of getting people here to come and play.

“The work Wooden Spoon do all year round is incredibly important, particularly at the moment, you look at Covid, you look at the cost of living crisis that’s coming in.

“Absolutely Wooden Spoon coming in and supporting disabled and disadvantaged children is incredibly important.”

Since 1983, Wooden Spoon have funded more than 1,300 projects, across the UK and Ireland, totalling over £29 million.

The winning teams won the Olly Stephens and Maddy Lawrence Memorial Cups to commemorate the lives of two young rugby players.

And Wright was proud to honour their memory and continue their legacy as part of the charity.

He said: “I think it is good to have a focal point.

“It is really important for us to understand why we are here, what we are doing, we have come to have a good time, but equally we are here to support people like Olly and Maddy.”

Wright competed against fellow Vets throughout the day and was greeted by HRH, The Princess Royal, who attended an afternoon reception to meet people involved in the event and watch some of the games.

He added “It’s been brilliant.

“There’s a lot of rugby, a lot of beers, a lot of blokes and women which is great.

“Kent Women have been fantastic so we’ve had a great day and of course we won the competition!

“It’s brilliant, it’s really competitive, our last game against London Herts and Middlesex was great, we all come here to have a good time but to play proper rugby as well as fundraising of course and you can see that on the pitch, it is very, very physical but we’ll be at the bar altogether later.”

Register for next year’s Vets Fest event at: https://woodenspoon.org.uk/wooden-spoon-vets-fest-2023/