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Campaigning rugby players will be touching down once more in the kingdom this weekend to take part in the annual festivities to raise awareness about men’s cancer.
The Cancer Crusaders Festival will take place at the Bahrain Rugby Football Club in Janaibiya, starting with a gala charity dinner tomorrow evening and then two days of friendly competition played in a carnival atmosphere.
Rugby squads mostly made up of players and ex-players that have either had cancer themselves or had a family member suffering from the disease will be taking to the field. Previously just one team, the group has expanded and now features Irish, Scottish, English, American and Bahraini representatives.
Mehdi Honar, BRFC and Bahrain Cancer Warriors chairman, as well as the club president of the Scottish Cancer Crusaders, believes events like these are vital to raise awareness about the disease, as well as provide an opportunity for people to take part in friendly competition.
He said: “By having such a gathering in the club, we are trying to promote awareness and encourage men to be more open about it. Many are dying either from their own ignorance or are simply too scared to seek help, even when they know that they have a problem.
The Cancer Crusaders, with our support, are leading the charge to change this.” Based out of the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, The Crusaders RFC was launched eight years ago by rugby enthusiast John Munro 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’ cause has expanded and they have participated in a host of international Sevens and Tens tournaments 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.
Although the Crusaders have toured Bahrain before, this is the first full festival featuring multiple teams. Approximately 45 players will be touching down in the kingdom, comprising the Scottish and Irish Crusader teams alongside the Bahrain team embellished with a few friendly faces from Dubai.
The itinerary is a round robin tournament, with three games of 30 minutes each (15 minute halves), plus there is a strong focus on hosting matches between youth teams. Games will take place between 1pm-5pm on both days, with entertainment to follow.
Mehdi himself has an emotional history with the disease, after his courageous daughter Persia fought a two-year battle against a rare form of bone cancer, Ewing’s Sarcoma, which involved intensive chemotherapy, radiotherapy and multiple surgeries.
After extensive treatment at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh, she is now fully recovered and studying at university in the UK. Mehdi explained: “The younger generation of the BRFC has a special place in my heart as they will be future of our club.
“They need more encouragement and given the opportunity to play tournament rugby to make them match fit. So not only will they get this, but they’ll also be part of the whole weekend and be more mindful of the risks and symptoms of cancer in future, because it can affect them too, as I well know. “Their success would have not been possible without the hard work of their volunteer coaches, who are putting in lots of free time in coming to the club to train these young boys and girls. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank parents who encourage their children to play.”
