The ‘Spitfire’ is an iconic name belonging to one of the world’s most famous fighter planes born of Supermarine’s experience with sea planes and the Schneider Trophy. Through Kentish Ale it has also, far more recently, spawned some excellent adverts in both poster and TV form. So as a rugby team if your going to have it emblazoned across your chest you need to have a certain style about you.
The RAF Sevens team are creating a little bit of a buzz – both on and off the field. On the field they are easily identified by their Canterbury strip that is breaking many sales records. However more recently they have set the odd (informed) tongue wagging with the quality of their play. A third place in the recent International Defence Force Sevens held in Denver was fair reward for a tournament where they steadily improved as each game went by. Though the Army were clearly the standout side the RAF by the end could easily lay claim to being the second best outfit in the championship. They showed that they were developing some excellent players with good skills and as importantly had a number of players with genuine pace. Other Service team’s beware.
However the RAF Rugby good news story doesn’t end there and for me their greatest achievement, thus far, has been off the field. The team have recently handed over a cheque for £35,800 to the RAF Benevolent Trust, Khelo Rugby and the RAF Ex PoW Association. This is simply a staggering amount and is a credit to Tim Barlow (Coach), Rory Wood (captain) and all the squad.
On hearing the story I was intrigued by the Khelo Rugby link, the logo for which is also on their shirts. Who are Khelo Rugby? Chatting to Tim it turns out that the Spitires have played a couple of times in Georgiadi Sevens. For the record in their first year they were crowned champions and they retained their All India title earlier this Summer. But that achievement pales in to insignificance compared with the impact they have had with the Khelo project and the developing legacy they continue to support and promote. Khelo Rugby is basically a project to help, through rugby, disadvantaged communities. I would commend everyone to spend five minutes on their facebook page at www.facebook.com/khelorugby to see the uplifting power of rugby football and also to appreciate the excellent work achieved by the Spitfires.
An excellent article on the RAF involvement in the project can be found by clicking here.
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