There were many rugby highlights last year, from the Red Roses’ World Cup win to England Rugby’s Quilter Nations Series’ clean sweep. However, when it comes to fun, a game that surely stood out was the annual fundraising fixture between England Legends and Ireland Legends in support of rugby charities.
The Legends event is organised by Harvey Thorneycroft Ltd and Sporting Class Ltd, without whose efforts and hard work, alongside the generous support of Ark Bermuda and the team at Rugby Players Ireland Foundation, this fabulous fixture would not be possible.
The match celebrates everything we love about rugby – a barrel load of fun, action-packed entertainment, an opportunity to catch up with old friends and a chance to support the wider rugby family.
A huge thank you to everyone involved in the game which raised over £15,000 for the RFU Injured Players Foundation, an official charity of England Rugby.
A special thank you goes to the legend that is Rugby World Cup winner, England men’s most capped player and three-time Lion, Jason Leonard, who nominated the IPF as his chosen charity.
Leonard and Thorneycroft recruited a side of rugby royalty [*see full list below] to take on a top-class Ireland team packed with former internationals like Devin Toner, Jordi Murphy and Chris Henry.
Congratulations to Ireland Legends who ran out 52-38 winners at the Energia Park, Donnybrook.
Speaking about the significant sum raised for the RFU Injured Players Foundation, IPF director Karen Hood said:
“We’d like to thank everyone involved with England and Ireland Legends and, in particular, Jason Leonard for nominating the RFU Injured Players Foundation as one of their charities in 2025.
“We hugely appreciate Jason’s and the Legends’ support for the IPF which supports players at any level of the game who have sustained an acute life-changing injury while playing rugby in England.
“The Legends’ fixture puts the rugby community at the absolute heart of the event and illustrates everything that’s great about rugby. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve played for your country or your local club, we’re all part of the same rugby family and we look out for one another.”
The Legends match has become something of an iconic fixture in the rugby calendar since its conception just over 15 years ago by former Irish international Shane Byrne and ex-Munster captain Len Dinneen.
Explaining the origins of the Legends Series, Byrne said: “This match started in 2009 after the untimely passing of Stuart Mangan, who played for Hammersmith & Fulham RFC in London. Thanks to the unwavering support of rugby fans and our incredible sponsor, Ark Bermuda, we’ve raised over €1.5 million for rugby charities in Ireland and the UK.”
The next epic instalment of the England v Ireland Legends series will take place on 20th February at the Twickenham Stoop and will be supporting The Moody Family Trust after the devastating news that ex England and Legends’ captain Lewis Moody has been diagnosed with MND.
* England Legends Team
Jason Leonard - Manager
Lee Dickson - Captain
Ben Woods
Dave Attwood
David Rees
David Strettle
Garath Archer
Graham Kitchener
Guy Thompson
James Buckland
Jonny Barrett
Jon Phillips
Kai Horstmann
Kevin Yates
Matt Banahan
Matt Cornwell
Matt Jess
Ollie Phillips
Paul Doran-Jones
Rob Vickerman
Rob Cook
Robbie Morris
Steffon Armitage
Tom May
Tom Varndell
