CANCER CRUSADE

Over the course of its 40-plus year history, Bahrain Rugby Football Club (RFC) has developed strong and lasting friendships with clubs around the world but this week saw the start of one particularly special relationship.

The Crusaders RFC is a unique rugby club for players and ex-players that have either had cancer themselves or had a family member suffering from the disease.

According to its website, many men are dying from their own ignorance and are scared to get help even when they know that they have a problem and so the Crusaders are leading the charge to change this.

Based out of the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, The Crusaders RFC was launched five years ago by rugby enthusiast John Munro, who lost his wife Debbie to cancer in 2005, with the aim of raising awareness of male cancers within the rugby community and supporting fellow rugby players in need of help.

Since then the Crusaders have participated in a host of veterans’ Sevens and Tens tournaments, including Amsterdam, Melrose and Edinburgh, as well as special charity fixtures.

They have also welcomed the support of some of the biggest names in world rugby such as former Scotland captain Eric Peters and New Zealand’s World Cup-winning fly-half Aaron Cruden, both of whom are former cancer patients themselves, and British and Irish Lions star Stuart Hogg.

One of main driving forces behind the club today is ex-Edinburgh and Scotland ‘A’ prop Duncan Wilson, himself another player who has suffered from cancer.

Wilson is a good friend of Bahrain RFC through his many appearances for the visiting ‘International XV’, and it was he who made the initial link between the two parties.

That link saw the Crusaders named as one of the beneficiaries of funds raised during the annual Bahrain RFC Veterans’ Midnight Tens tournament back in February and this week.

Bahrain chairman and seasoned cancer charity campaigner Mehdi Honar met Wilson, affectionately known as ‘Big Dunc’, and other club representatives this week at the home of Scottish rugby, Murrayfield in Edinburgh.

After presenting a Bahrain flag, club plaque and playing jersey as well as a hefty donation, which will go towards the purchase of specialised testing equipment that will travel on tour with the Crusaders, Mr Honar soon got round to discussing further tie-ups between the two clubs.

First on the agenda was a proposed tour by the Crusaders to Bahrain this coming season, which would include rugby matches, a charity dinner and auction, a one-man performance from aspiring magician Wilson, as well as efforts to promote awareness of male cancers and conduct tests.

The Crusaders have also confirmed they will be participating in the Veterans’ Tens competition at this year’s Dubai Sevens in November with the support of Bahrain RFC.

For more information on the Crusaders and their activities, check out www.crusadersrugby.org or The Crusaders RFC on Facebook. For further details on related events in Bahrain, meanwhile, watch this space.