Lesotho Rugby Academy summer fundraiser a huge success

On 26 June 2019, the Lesotho Rugby Academy held its annual summer fundraising dinner at Brunswick House in Vauxhall. We had a fantastic turnout, with over 90 guests, including rugby legends Ian ‘Robbo’ Robertson (the voice of rugby), Mark Lambert of Harlequins and Alistair Hargreaves, ex Saracens and Springbok.

This was a chance for us to say a huge thank you to all those who have supported us over the years, to build our network with new friends, and to raise some money to keep the programme going over the next 12 months. We were joined by LRA trustees, including Steve Lloyd who travelled all the way from Cardiff to join us, by our partners Atlas Foundation and Harlequins Foundation, the School of Hard Knocks, members of Hackney Rugby Club, students from St Edmund Hall and our amazing friends and families.

After a fizzy reception guests were treated to a spectacular dinner of…, before Ian Robertson regaled the audience with a collection of amusing stories from his life on the road as the BBC’s champion commentator.

The evening finished with an auction, with MC for the evening and ex-Christies auctioneer Thomas Best demonstrating his professionalism and taking full advantage of some merry bidders. With generous donations from Wolfpack Lager, Harlequins, The Ambassador Theatre Group, Our Legend Events and Holidays, we managed to smash last year’s record fundraising, with £14,000 of donations and pledges on the night. Thanks to sponsorship of the evening by Rebecca Aylward-Mills all money raised on the night will go directly to Lesotho, with enough money to purchase a vehicle for Coach Roy so he can get to harder to reach, rural schools, fund 3 coaches for a year and deliver the programme to 20 schools.

A fantastic effort and huge thanks to everyone involved, we really couldn’t have come this far without your support. We look forward to seeing many of you at future events.